Late Defensive Plays Help Paloma Valley Remain Unbeaten

Demarco Prewitt finds running room for a long gain late in the fourth quarter of Paloma Valley's 35-29 win over Elsinore Friday night.

In a perfect world, the Paloma Valley High School football players would eliminate their penalties and not have to sweat out frantic fourth-quarter drives by the opposition.

But the Wildcats' record is indeed still perfect Friday night after a hard-fought victory, and that was coach Bert Esposito's primary concern.

"We keep finding ways to win," Esposito said after Paloma Valley's 35-29 victory over visiting Elsinore in the Sunbelt League opener for both teams. "I don't care if it's 2-0 or 50-49; it's a win, and the guys did what they had to."

Senior quarterback Brent Boehm passed for 292 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Michael Valencia (right) in the first quarter. Sophomore running back Demarco Prewitt rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns, plus a third TD on a pass reception from Boehm. Yet it was the defense that had to come up biggest when the game was on the line.

The Wildcats (1-0, 6-0) didn't score again after Prewitt's 1-yard touchdown run gave them a 35-17 lead early in the third quarter. Elsinore (0-1, 2-4) fought back with a 4-yard TD run by Davis Peralta and a 20-yard TD pass from quarterback Tommy Wilson to Chris Harris before the quarter was over, cutting Paloma's lead to 35-29 entering the final period.

That's when the Paloma Valley defense came up big. Showing that they had the ability to shake off earlier mistakes and costly penalties, the Wildcat defenders forced two turnovers and stopped Elsinore's final desperation drive in the final minutes to preserve the victory.

Early in the quarter, Fred Lundy intercepted a fourth-down pass by Wilson deep inside Elsinore territory. Paloma Valley was unable to score on the ensuing drive, but the Wildcats got the ball right back on the next possession when Kre Webb recovered an Elsinore fumble near midfield.

Paloma Valley was forced to punt on its next possession, giving Elsinore the ball back with almost four minutes remaining and the chance to pull out a victory with a touchdown and extra point. It never happened, however.

After two straight incompletions against a solid Paloma pass defense, Wilson went to the air again on fourth down along the left sideline. Defensive back Felix Bogroff outjumped the receiver to knock the ball down (left) and give it back to the Wildcats, who killed the remaining time on the clock.

"I read it at the last second and got over there," Bogroff said about the defensive play. "I looked up and just jumped for the ball."

Esposito was pleased with the way his players responded late in the game.

"Those close games against Moreno Valley and Temecula Valley really gave our guys some character," he said. "Tonight they did it again; they found a way to win.

"That's what we needed. Starting out 5-0 is nice, but character building is the key. They made some mistakes earlier, but they didn't sulk and let up. They did what they had to do."

Junior running back Elliott Smith left the game in the third quarter with an injury to his right knee. The extent of his injury was not known Friday night.

Paloma Valley quarterback Brent Boehm turns upfield for a big gain in Friday's win over Elsinore.

Wildcats receiver Phillip Hauser stretches for extra yardage after a pass reception Friday night.

The training staff attends to junior Elliott Smith, who suffered a knee injury.