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By C. Jayden Smith
ALISO VIEJO – It was over before it even got started.
Capistrano Valley Christian found the end zone on its first six possessions to blow out Godinez in dominating fashion, 41-0, on Friday night, Sept. 2, at Aliso Niguel High School.
Of the Eagles’ six touchdowns, five came on quick-strike drives that lasted four plays or less.
Sophomore quarterback Nate Richie went 5 of 6 passing for 153 yards and four scores, but it was his receivers who were responsible for taking the short passes and leaving defenders strewn about the field.
Jack Gallo, a sophomore tight end and linebacker, was chief among them. He caught two passes for 50 yards and two touchdowns and added three tackles for loss and a half sack defensively.
CVC head coach Eric Preszler spoke about Gallo’s importance in his ability to play everywhere, as the sophomore earned the team’s Defensive MVP award last season.
“He’s all over the field, and also just a great leader and teammate,” Preszler said.
Capistrano Valley Christian (2-0) will host Laguna Beach back at Aliso Niguel High School on Friday, Sept. 9.
Preszler said that he had hoped to see overall improvement from his team heading into the game, as they had installed some new offensive wrinkles, as well as seeing a competitive nature. He noted that he thought the Eagles’ offense successfully executed their schemes.
CVC totaled 193 yards rushing on 24 carries, led by junior JP Synnott’s six carries for 71 yards and a score and senior Hayden Carlson’s 68 yards and one touchdown on two rushes in the first half.
Preszler recognized the offensive line’s performance for allowing the Eagles to keep scoring touchdowns.
“We were spreading it around, but the only way you spread it around is if you have good offensive linemen,” he said.
The head coach added that the defense met their standard for success by bringing players to the ball to make tackles early and often. CVC finished with six tackles for loss, two combined sacks, an interception by Cole Sampson, and a fumble recovery by Connor Susag.
The Eagles also held Godinez to 74 first-half yards, with most coming after CVC established its 41-point cushion.
On its first drive, CVC engineered a nine-play, 72-yard drive that saw Ritchie find Gallo for a 10-yard score. After forcing a three-and-out and a 27-yard punt return by Carlson, the Eagles went to work in Godinez territory.
Carlson soon caught a pass over the middle and outran defenders for a 16-yard touchdown to put CVC up 14-0.
The Eagle defense consistently put its offense in position to score, as they started all their next possessions on the Grizzlies’ side of the field.
Logan Kelly took a flip pass 35 yards to the end zone, Carlson had a 54-yard scoring run, Gallo took a flare pass and ran over a tackler on the way to a 40-yard score, and Synnott finished the scoring with an 18-yard touchdown run for the 41-0 advantage with 7:45 remaining in the second quarter.
Godinez junior Yahir Ramirez led the Grizzlies with 39 yards on 12 carries.
C. Jayden Smith
C. Jayden Smith graduated from Dana Hills High in 2018 before pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in digital and broadcast journalism from the University of North Texas. After graduating in December 2020, he reported for the Salina Journal in Salina, Kansas. Jayden loves college football and bothering his black lab named Shadow.
