Jaguars score three touchdowns in scrimmage with Chula Vista [VIDEO]

Senior quarterback Daniel DeLeon threw two touchdown passes for the Jaguars in Friday's scrimmage.

By Dan Kidder

The VCHS varsity football team kicked off the fall sports season with a scrimmage at Chula Vista on Friday night and came through with a handful of big plays to help give the team momentum heading into the regular season.

Though no official score was kept, the Jaguars scored three touchdowns and held the Spartans scoreless.

Senior quarterback Daniel DeLeon connected with receiver Jared Gilster on a couple big plays, including a 45-yard touchdown at the end of the scrimmage. DeLeon and Gilster also hooked up on a short touchdown pass on the first Jaguar series. Backup QB Rhett Reilly also led a touchdown drive, as his long completion to wideout Chance Plash set up a short touchdown run by Nick Manriquez.

While Manriquez scored the lone rushing touchdown, the other Jaguar running backs, including Dalton Larabee, Dustin Dendy and Andrew Navarro also saw significant carries in the game.

"We saw some good things, but I don't know that any one of them did anything to separate themselves," head coach Rob Gilster said of his running backs. "They all did some good things, but right now, it's more about the offensive line and possessing the ball."

Possession of the ball proved uncharacteristically difficult for the Jags, as they fumbled on five different occasions. The team also had its share of miscues, from a miscommunication in the secondary that led to a big gain on Chula Vista's first play to a holding penalty that wiped out a long completion from DeLeon to Luke Konyn near the end of the scrimmage.

In shutting out the Spartans, the Jaguar defense came up with some big plays along the way. Both John Cabrera and Jake Newman pulled down interceptions, while Manriquez and Jon McIntyre both recorded quarterback sacks.


Overall, Coach Gilster said that the team still has "a long way to go, but this was a good first step. We were fairly physical on both sides of the ball. We made a few mistakes, but the offense was fairly effective. We're moving in the right direction."

Here are some video highlights from the scrimmage.

Video by Dan Kidder