Kern Valley scores 28 points, but isn’t enough as they lose 52-28
The Kern Valley JV squad could not hold down the explosiveness of the Bishop offense in key HDL matchup.
Traveling to Bishop for the first-place showdown, the Broncs needed the win to take over sole possession of the HDL standings. Both teams came into the contest undefeated in league play. It started off well for Kern Valley as they took the opening kickoff and drove the ball 80 yards in 10 plays. Jackson Price capped off the long drive when he hooked up with Shiloh Galvan for the 30-yard touchdown. They extra-point try was unsuccessful, but the Broncs took the early 6-0 lead.
The Broncos of Bishop answered on their first possession as they scored on a 56-yard touchdown pass of their own. The score stood at 6-6. The Broncos took the lead for good when they scored on 60-yard punt return for a touchdown to make it 14-6, Two scoring tosses later by Bishop and the score had ballooned to 27-6 before Kern Valley stopped the scoring streak for Bishop. Kern Valley drove to the Bishop three-yard line after a14 plays. Price took control and scampered in from three yards out to cut into the lead. The Broncs went for the two-point try and were successful to make the score a little closer at 27-14. Bishop grabbed back control as they managed to score on a Hail Mary pass into the end zone. The half ended with Bishop leading 33-14.
Coming out of the break, the Kern Valley defense forced a punt. Taking over at their own 28-yard line the Broncs were back on offense. One play was all that was needed for the scoreboard change. Price took off and sped his way into the end zone for the 72-yard touchdown. Another successful two-point try and the lead had dwindled to 33-22. Taking a chance, the Broncs tried for the onside kick. Gabe Ross was able to pounce on the loose ball and hand it back to the Broncs. With momentum swinging their way, Kern Valley did not waste the opportunity. It took 11 plays, but in the end Price crossed the goal line for the third time to make it a one-score game. The scoreboard read 33-28 for Bishop, but the Broncs had the momentum.
Kern Valley was able to get the ball back as Gavin Tibbet caused a fumble. Israel Padilla gathered in the loose ball to give the Broncs offense the ball. With a chance to get back into the lead, Kern Valley could not keep the momentum going and allowed Bishop to regain control. The Broncos scored twice more to cement the victory and send Kern Valley to the road loss at 52-28.
Price completed seven of his 14 pass attempts for 100 yards. He hit four different receivers in the game. Galvan led the way with three catches for 78 yards and the TD. Ross hauled in a pair of passes for 10 yards, while Ryder Pappas and Tye Humphers grabbed one pass each doe three yards. On the ground, the Kern Valley team was led by Price with 133 yards on 13 totes and the three scores. Pappas had 11 rushed that went for 101 yards. Tibbett closed out the ground game with six carried for 22 yards. No defensive stats were made available in this game.
Bill Gallis the Broncs head coach had this to say on the game, “That’s a tough loss for us, going in we felt very confident we were going to be able to do good things to put us in a position to win. We played very well at times, but we just didn’t have an answer for their big play capability. We put ourselves in a big hole during that second quarter and it took a lot to get us back in the game. You tip your hat to Bishop, they made the big plays when they needed them. Our young team showed resilience throughout the game, and with continued hard work, we’ll look to bounce back and close out the season on a positive note against Boron next week.”
Kern Valley’s season will come to an end on Friday when the Boron Bobcats comes to town. The game is slated to kickoff at 4 p.m.
