Late touchdown lifts Victor Valley past Barstow in Axe Game
· Yahoo Sports
For the first Desert Sky League game of the season, there was plenty at stake Friday night at Langworthy Field.
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It was not only the 103rd Axe Game between Victor Valley and Barstow on Oct. 2, but also a matchup between two teams expected to contend for the Desert Sky League title.
In the end, Victor Valley found a way to escape with a 7-3 victory.
“Proud of these kids for not giving up and just fighting, fighting, fighting,” Victor Valley head coach Thomas Riley said. “They're gritty guys and they did a great job.”
Trailing by three points since late in the second quarter, the Jackrabbits scored the game’s only touchdown with 23 seconds remaining.
Victor Valley started the winning drive at its own 36-yard line with more than five minutes to play and steadily moved downfield.
Quarterback Peyton Rapattoni, who entered in the third quarter after Dylan D’Epifanio got the start in his Victor Valley debut, completed key passes to Kam’ren Norment and Ja’aron Tharpe along the way.
The Jackrabbits eventually reached Barstow’s 13-yard line and faced second-and-2 with 47 seconds remaining. Running back Quron Muhammed moved the chains with a 3-yard run.
With the clock continuing to run, Victor Valley quickly lined up for the next play.
Rapattoni had time in the pocket and found Aiden Tanks end zone for the winning touchdown. Tanks, who caught two touchdown passes in Victor Valley’s Bell Game victory over Apple Valley last month, delivered another big rivalry-game score.
“The go-to guy,” Riley said of Tanks. “He’s that guy, and I got to do a better job of getting him the ball more. But he’s that guy.”
The victory gave Victor Valley possession of both the Bell and the Axe for the first time since 2010.
D’Epifanio had a difficult debut despite the victory. His transfer from Bishop Amat was approved by the CIF-Southern Section one day before the Axe Game.
Riley said D’Epifanio had practiced with the Jackrabbits for two weeks leading into the game, but acknowledged that was not much time to prepare.
D’Epifanio started at quarterback but struggled to get the offense moving, completing just two passes. After Victor Valley went three-and-out to open the second half, Rapattoni replaced him.
Rapattoni had been the Jackrabbits’ starting quarterback throughout the season before Friday.
Despite Victor Valley’s offensive struggles, Barstow was unable to take advantage.
The Aztecs reached the red zone only twice. Their first trip came on the opening drive, when quarterback JJ Applewhite fumbled and Victor Valley recovered.
Their second resulted in a field goal by Noah Azio late in the second quarter, giving Barstow the only points of the game until Victor Valley’s final drive.
“I think it’s just execution. I think scheme was there. Execution, you know, you gotta get back to it,” Barstow head coach Clayton Leleimene said.
Barstow never found much of a rhythm against a Victor Valley defensive front that controlled much of the game.
Defensive end Jovan Taylor recorded two sacks of Applewhite, while Jeremiah Hollowell sealed the victory with a sack on Barstow’s final possession.
Victor Valley returns home Oct. 8 against Granite Hills.
The Aztecs will be idle next week before resuming DSL play against Silverado on Oct. 15. Leleimene hopes the extra time will give Barstow an opportunity to correct its mistakes.
“It's just preparation where executing on the first day of practice and then fixing the things that we know is possible,” Leleimene said. “We're in league, we're peaking just about the right time. Fix the mistakes from today, and then look to Silverado at the next practice.”
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Late touchdown lifts Victor Valley past Barstow in Axe Game