VALHALLA COMES BACK IN SECOND HALF TO DEFEAT MOUNT MIGUEL

Norsemen score 24 points in second half

By Ryan Schuler

October 2, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) –It was passing versus rushing; quarterback Ramsey Romano versus running back Tony Dozier.

Only one team would come out of Friday night’s non-conference game victorious. And on this night, passing proved to be the difference.  Behind by 24 unanswered points in the second half, Valhalla’s Norsemen surged forward  to defeat the Mount Miguel Matadors 31-24.

The Matadors scored first when junior quarterback Brad Moreno found junior wide receiver Jovon Richardson on a fade route in the back of the end zone to make it 6-0.

The Norseman would quickly respond when senior running back Jihad Elder found a hole on the right side and ran 77 yards down the sideline for the touchdown to put Valhalla in the lead 7-6 after the Matadors missed the extra point following their first touchdown.

From there, Mount Miguel’s ground game took over to give the Matadors a sizeable lead. Senior running back Tony Dozier, who finished the game with 222 yards rushing, would punch it in from two yards out before Moreno scored on touchdown runs of 34 and two yards to give the Matadors a 24-7 halftime lead. Dozier’s touchdown came after a Valhalla fumble was recovered by Mount Miguel late in the first quarter.

But the second half belonged to Valhalla as the Norsemen shut out the Matadors and scored 24 points of their own. After a 43-yard field goal by kicker Ean Hendrickson, Romano and senior wide receiver Kevin Mills ran in touchdowns to tie the score at 24.

“Our defense thought they were getting bullied in the first half,” Valhalla head coach Charles Bussey said. “Our defense finally stepped up and said enough is enough, and they weren’t going to be pushed around anymore.”

With just a minute left in the game, Romano found senior wide receiver Bryan Macias wide open in the end zone after his defender slipped for a 24-yard touchdown to complete the come-from-behind victory.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Bussey said. “We’ve done this a few times this season already. We had our struggles on defense, but to shut out a team out in the second half, then the offense moved down the field like that the last two minutes of the game is amazing. All the credit goes to the kids.”

Romano finished with 234 yards through the air and two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing). The Norsemen now sit at an overall record of 3-2, while Mount Miguel is now 1-4.

“It’s funny because I was just talking to Ramsey about that yesterday,” Bussey said of leadership. “Just how much he has grown as a leader since this is his first year starting at the quarterback position. We didn’t know he was going to play as well as he is, but it’s the leadership aspect that has impressed me the most,” he concluded. “He just takes control. It’s fun to watch.”