Field hockey recap: Helix at Valley Center

Here's a quick recap of Valley Center's field hockey game against Helix on Wednesday:

Video and narration by Dan Kidder

Game recap: Valley Center at La Jolla

Here is a video recap of the Valley Center at La Jolla football game from Friday night.

VIDEO: Jaguars fall to La Jolla in another close game

For the third consecutive week, the Valley Center varsity football game came down to the final seconds.
But this time, the Jaguars wound up on the short end of a 23-20 score, as turnovers and penalties came back to haunt them in the loss.
The Jags turned the ball over four times--two interceptions, one fumble lost and a turnover on downs--and struggled with penalties throughout the game, most notably on a touchdown run that was called back for holding. The Jags also gave up eight sacks in the game as the offense had trouble getting in sync.
The Valley Center defense was outstanding and kept the team in the game against a fast-paced Viking offense.
La Jolla led 7-0 at halftime and despite having its own difficulties with penalties, held a 13-7 lead after returning an interception for a touchdown in the third quarter.
Valley Center scored touchdowns on three different long pass plays, two of which went to Josh Lucas, in the second half. But the Vikings scored on a wide receiver reverse pass and still held a 23-20 lead after the Jaguars' final score of the evening came with 4:43 left in the game.
After scoring to pull within three with nearly five minutes left, the Jags forced a La Jolla punt and had 2:17 in which to drive for another score. But on the fourth play of the drive, quarterback Daniel DeLeon fumbled the snap and the Vikings recovered with 1:45 on the clock.
The Valley Center defense forced another punt, and the Jaguars got the ball back with 45 seconds remaining, having used their timeouts on defense.
But after taking a sack and missing on a pair of mid-range throws, the Jags had to go for it on fourth-and-18 with 30 seconds left. DeLeon threw deep to Brad Dozier, who had to jump up for the ball, and on his way back down he was hit, knocking the ball loose for an incomplete pass that gave the ball back to the Vikings.

Here are the video highlights (and some lowlights, unfortunately) from the game:

Video by Kelly Kidder

Daniel DeLeon drops of a screen pass to Brad Dozier for a good gain.


Jacob Cunningham breaks through for a touchdown run, but the play is called back on a holding penalty against the Jaguars.


DeLeon avoids the quick pressure with a pass over the middle, but the ball sails and is intercepted by the Vikings near their own goal line.


Derikie Blaze busts through the line and sacks the La Jolla QB.


DeLeon throws to August Fleugge for a 34-yard touchdown.


The Vikings go for it on 4th down, but the VC defense comes up with a big stop.


The Vikings get an interception and take it all the way back for a touchdown.


John Cabrera plays this pass perfectly to knock it away from the receiver in the end zone.


The Vikings mishandle this punt and the Jaguars scoop up the loose ball.


DeLeon hits Josh Lucas on a quick pass that turns into a 44-yard touchdown.


Larry Wheeler stuffs this running play in the backfield.


Dylan Chaffee tracks down the runner for a stop on third down.


The Vikings run a wide receiver reverse pass that goes for a 22-yard touchdown.


DeLeon connects with Lucas for another touchdown, this one for 30 yards.


The Jaguars blow through the line and stuff the run on third down late in the game.


DeLeon throws deep for Dozier, but the Vikings are flagged for pass interference.


While trying to lead a comeback drive late in the fourth quarter, DeLeon fumbles the snap and the Vikings recover.


Dozier gets open on fourth down, but he takes a big hit and the ball falls out for an incomplete pass on Valley Center's final play of the game.


The Vikings run out the clock on the game's final play, but with a bit of controversy because the QB didn't kneel down right away and appeared to lose the ball. The referees didn't acknowledge any fumble and the game ended when the clock ran out.

VIDEO: Lady Jaguars beat Mt. Carmel in field hockey

Valley Center played a great game on both sides of the ball, especially on defense, to take a 3-0 field hockey win over Mt. Carmel at Jaguar Stadium today.
Delaney Cummings scored twice and Araceli Mondragon added the third goal, while Bailey Sanders notched her third shutout of the young season.

Here are a couple of video clips of the last two goals:

Video by Dan Kidder

After a scramble in front of goal, Delaney Cummings pushes the ball just over the line for a VC goal.


Araceli Mondragon puts home this rebound for the Lady Jaguars.

VIDEO: Jaguars hang on to beat Brawley

Valley Center's "cardiac cats" are at it again.

For the second week in a row, the fate of the Valley Center High School football game hung in the balance with only six seconds left on the clock.

And for the second week in a row, head coach Rob Gilster and the Jaguars walked off the field as winners, though both the coach and the team didn’t walk away unscathed.

“I’ve got a headache, and for a while there, I thought I was going to black out,,” Coach Gilster said with a tired chuckle after his team held on through an exhausting final drive to defeat Brawley 17–13 at home on Friday night.

The Jags scored a touchdown and added a field goal in the first half and the defense shut out the run-oriented Wildcat offense, giving Valley Center a ten-point lead at the break.

But Brawley came roaring back with 13 unanswered points in the second half to take a three-point lead in the fourth quarter.

The Jaguars re-took the lead with five minutes to go when Daniel DeLeon ran a quarterback sneak in for a three-yard touchdown, putting his team up 17–13, but with a lot of time still on the clock.

The Wildcats took to the air to try to get one more score, but the Valley Center defense came up with the big plays it needed to hang on for the win.

After poking fun at the physical toll the game took on himself, Coach Gilster turned serious when he spoke about the injuries that befell the Jaguars during the game.

Top receiver and cornerback Anthony Ricks briefly left the game in the first half with a sore ankle after getting tackled, but returned a few plays later with tape on his ankle. He came back for the second half without the ankle tape, but was limping noticeably on the field, and played only on offense until the final minutes. He remains questionable for Friday’s game at La Jolla.
Also in the first half, on the same offensive series, the Jaguars lost a pair of offensive weapons. The first to go down was receiver Jared Gilster, who absorbed a thumping tackle with his right shoulder and suffered a broken collarbone. He is expected to miss six to eight weeks.
Then, just five plays later, starting running back Brad Dozier caught a long pass and took a big hit that knocked his helmet off. It was originally suspected that Dozier suffered a concussion on the play, so he did not return to the game. Coach Gilster confirmed this week that Dozier did not suffer a concussion and he is expected to play on Friday night.

“That’s six positions right there,” Coach Gilster said of the trio of two-way players. “We had to move guys around and bring guys up who haven’t played much. We had [Dustin] Dendy switching to defense, [Josh] Lucas playing more of an H-back position, Jacob [Cunningham] running the ball more, and Caleb [Kim], a guy who wasn’t going to play, now he’s out there winning games for us. It was a great team win because guys stepped up and made plays when we had to have them.”

Perhaps the most crucial play of the game came on the final Valley Center drive of the night, a drive that resulted in the game-winning touchdown.

Five plays before DeLeon’s touchdown run, the Jaguars faced fourth-and-six at the Brawley 45-yard line. On third down, DeLeon had tried to hit Ricks on a slant, but the pass came in a little bit behind the receiver and was knocked away. Coach Gilster called in the same play for fourth down, and DeLeon delivered to Ricks, who fought through the pain in his ankle to make the catch and move the chains.

“I put the team on my back because I wanted it so bad for them,” Ricks said of the catch. “All I could think was just ‘Catch the ball.’ I knew Daniel would put it there and the offensive line did an amazing job blocking in front of him to let him get the pass away.”

DeLeon finished with 12 completions on 18 attempts for 109 yards and a touchdown through the air. He also added six rushes for eight yards and a touchdown on the ground.

His favorite target was Ricks, who hauled in five passes for 53 yards and a score, while Lucas had three catches for 31 yards, Gilster had two receptions for 16 yards, Dozier caught one pass for seven yards and Cunningham had one catch for three yards.

On the ground, Dozier racked up 64 yards on 12 carries before his injury, then Cunningham took over and carried the ball 11 times for 42 yards.

Here are some video highlights from the action:

Video by Kelly Kidder

 Daniel DeLeon connects with Anthony Ricks for a 15-yard touchdown.

Derikie Blaze slashes through a block to stuff the runner on fourth down.

Dano Da Silva drills this 35-yard field goal.

The Wildcats lose control of the snap and the Jaguars appear to come away with the ball, but the officials rule that Brawley keeps possession.

Jared Gilster makes a big catch for a first down, but takes a big hit and leaves the game with an injury.

Brad Dozier makes a great catch down the field, but gets hit hard and loses his helmet. He did not return to the game.

DeLeon pushes through the pile on a QB sneak to score what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.

Ricks makes a big tackle for loss on Brawley's final drive.

Larry Wheeler gets to the QB for a sack, but is penalized for a face mask.

Dustin Dendy lowers the boom on the Brawley QB for a sack on the second-to-last play of the game.

With only 6 seconds left in the game, the Wildcats throw a long pass down the field for a completion, but time runs out to end the game.

Football: Jaguars win in another furious finish

For the second week in a row, the Valley Center varsity football game came down to the final six seconds.
Last week, the Jaguars scored a touchdown with six seconds left, then added a two-point conversion to take the lead and the win.
This week, the Jags scored the go-ahead touchdown with more than five minutes remaining in the game, and the defense held the visiting Brawley Wildcats throughout a crazy final drive that used up those final five minutes and came down to one final play with six seconds left on the clock.
The Wildcats, trailing 17-13, alternately moved down the field and back, thanks to a host of big plays and penalties by both the offense and defense.
But after a sack by Dustin Dendy on the second-to-last play of the game, the Wildcats had only six seconds to cover 40 yards if they hoped to get the win.
Brawley completed a long pass on the final play, but defenders John Cabrera and Anthony Ricks were able to knock the big receiver over as the clock expired, giving the Jaguars their second win of the season.

Here are a few video highlights from the game.

Video by Kelly Kidder

Daniel DeLeon pushes through the pile on a QB sneak to score what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.


Dustin Dendy lowers the boom on the Brawley QB for a sack on the second-to-last play of the game.


With only 6 seconds left in the game, the Wildcats throw a long pass down the field for a completion, but time runs out to end the game.

VIDEO: Lady Jaguars blank Valhalla in field hockey

Delaney Cummings (15) put this shot past the Valhalla keeper to score the first Valley Center goal of the 2013 season.


Valley Center's varsity field hockey team opened the 2013 season with a big home win on Wednesday, as the Lady Jaguars shut out Valhalla 6-0.

Delaney Cummings scored a hat trick to lead the offense, while sophomore goalie Bailey Sanders got her first win at the varsity level with an outstanding shutout effort.

Here are some video highlights from the game:

Video by Dan Kidder

Delaney Cummings scores the first goal of the 2013 season and the first of her three goals in the game.


Savanna Fiehler puts on some nice moves to score, but the goal is disallowed by the referee.


Emily Hutchinson gets a goal for the Lady Jaguars.


Becca Vizcarra slips this shot past the keeper.


The Lady Jags receive some instruction from coach Rebecca Embrey during a time out in the first half.


After the 6-0 win, the Lady Jaguars give a cheer for their fans.