Kern Valley’s Gabe Ross of the JV Broncs finishes off the 24-yard scoring toss from Jackson Price in Friday’s Homecoming game versus Rosamond. Submitted photo.
The Kern Valley JV football team finally got a chance to play its first HDL game. They had to hang to collect the 28-20 win over the Rosamond Roadrunners.
With Desert not having a JV team, the Broncs had to wait two weeks before taking the field. With it being Homecoming, the Broncs wanted to come together and try to get its first league win. The two teams battled all night long. The game was not decided until the final horn sounded.
The action got started when the Broncs took the opening kickoff. They marched down the field and were set up at the 15-yard of the Roadrunners. Jackson Price got the scoring started as he raced in from 15 yards to put Kern Valley into the lead. Going for two, the Broncs made it 8-0 when Price hooked up with Gabe Ross to convert. Rosamond had an answer as they tied the score early in the second quarter. Their touchdown came from 35 yards out. They also converted the two-point conversion to make it 8-8.
It was the Broncs turn to respond. They could not. After taking the ball on a long drive, they turned the ball over on an interception. The Roadrunners could not gain any traction and they tried to change the complexion of the game when they gambled on a fourth-down play inside their own zone. It was fourth and short with the ball on their own 18-yard line. The Kern Valley defense stood strong and forced a tackle for loss. This play set up the Broncs in scoring position. They wasted little time as the next play they found the end zone. Ryder Pappas rushed his way to an 11-yard touchdown to put Kern Valley back in the lead. They PAT was unsuccessful leaving the score at 14-8 in favor of the Broncs. Rosamond took their turn and tied the score at 14 when they moved the ball down to the 38 of Kern Valley. They scored on the next play with a scoring toss. This time their PAT was no good and it left the score knotted at 14-14. Both teams had one more possession, but failed to fine the end zone. Both teams headed for the break and still had two quarters to play.
Coming out of the intermission it was the Broncs turn to take a chance. They attempted an onside kick that proved to be successful. Moving the ball down to the Roadrunners 24-yard line, Kern Valley was clos to the end zone. Price connected with Ross for the Broncs third touchdown of the night. Back in the lead at 20-14, Kern Valley now relied on their defense. It was a good call as the Broncs defense forced a fumble to get the ball back. Troy Valenzuela pounced on the loose ball. They could not take advantage of the turnover, but they took the ball away again as they made Rosamond cough up the ball. Jaadyn Cleveland gathered in the loose ball to give it back to the Broncs.
Taking time off the clock the Kern Valley offense moved the ball to the 10-yard line of the Roadrunners. It was Shiloh Galvan’s turn to put points on the board for Kern Valley. Galvan took the pass from Price and crossed the goal line. They would connect again on the two-point conversion to push the score to 28-14. Rosamond did not quit and got right back into the game with a touchdown of their own. The scoreboard was sitting at 28-20 in favor of the Broncs. Kern Valley took the ensuing kickoff and was able to run out the clock and earn themselves a hard-fought victory in the HDL opener for them.
In the game, Kern Valley totaled 279 yards. They threw for 85 yards and rushed for 194. Price was 7-of-9 for the 85 yards. He hooked up with four different receivers. Ross caught two for 41 yards and the touchdown. Tye Humphers hauled in a pair of passes for 27 yards, while Galvan also caught two passes for 16 yards and the one scoring toss. Pappas was the leading ball carrier for Kern Valley. He had 17 touches and went for 137 yards and the one touchdown. Price finished off the rushing yards with 57 yards on seven carries.
Defensively, the Broncs were led by Humphers with 11 tackles. Ethyn Henry finished with six tackles, including a sack. Valenzuela had five tackles, including four that were for negative yardage. Gavin Tippet collected four tackles, while Cleveland, Max Baughman, and Price were credited with two tackles apiece. Dustin Caraway and EJ Anderson each had one tackle that resulted in a sack. Pappas had one tackles, while Galvan picked off a Rosamond pass and had one tackle.
The Broncs head coach Bill Gallis said, “What a crazy game! We seemed to be in control for most of it, but we kept getting in our own way. Credit to Rosamond; they played hard and made it tough for us. I’m proud of how our defense responded in the second half, forcing turnovers and giving our offense short fields. We had some outstanding individual performances today. On defense, Troy Valenzuela was unstoppable, recording four tackles for loss and a fumble recovery, while our offense was led by the emergence of running back Ryder Pappas, who scored and rushed for over 130 yards. It was a great win to kick off the league, and it was a lot of fun to compete in front of a large homecoming crowd. Next week, we’ll be on the road, and we’ll need to bring our best to defeat Cal City.”
The Broncs will go on the road this Friday when they make the trip to Cal City. Their game is scheduled to kickoff at 4 p.m.
