Paloma Valley Stays Unbeaten With Easy Win Over Perris

Paloma Valley's Fred Lundy prepares to haul in a pass from quarterback Brent Boehm that went for a 42-yard touchdown play in the Wildcats' 35-6 win at Perris Friday night.

By Zac Force

Paloma Valley High School beat Perris 35-6 in a Sunbelt League football game Friday night, moving to 7-0 on the season.

Paloma Valley is now 2-0 in league games heading into next Friday's "Menifee Bowl" showdown with crosstown rival Heritage, which is 2-0 in league and 6-1 overall.

Wildcats quarterback Brent Boehm struck quickly with a 12-yard touchdown pass to wideout RJ Benz, putting up the first points of the game on just the fourth offensive play. In the second quarter, Boehm threw for a pair of touchdowns to Michael Valencia and Fred Lundy, giving the Wildcats a 21-0 lead going into halftime.

In the second half, Demarco Prewitt (right) ran for two touchdowns as the Wildcats built their lead to 35-0. The Panthers were finally able to put points on the board with a rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats' offense was productive as usual, putting up 362 total offensive yards. While Paloma was able to rush for more than 100 yards, the big key was their passing attack, which racked up 259 yards. Perris was also able to put up over 100 yards on the ground, but was limited to just 29 passing yards and only six total points.

Paloma Valley’s defense held the opposition to its lowest point total of the year (equalling the six points allowed in week one against San Bernardino). The pass defense for Paloma kept Perris in check and Valencia intercepted two passes.

Boehm completed 65 percent of his passes with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. Boehm now has 23 touchdowns to just 3 interceptions on the year and is averaging 3 touchdowns and over 200 yards per game. Prewitt leads the team in rushing on the year with 643 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging over 10 yards per carry and almost 130 yards per game.

Paloma is currently leading the league in points scored with 341. The Wildcats also have allowed the least amount of points with 136.

"It hasn’t been easy to go undefeated thus far; it has been tough," coach Bert Esposito said.

Like his players, Esposito is also excited about next Friday's home game against Heritage.

"I expect it to be a great game," he said. "It’s a clash of different styles. They’re great runners and we’re great passers."

RJ Benz of the Wildcats finds open field on the way to a 12-yard touchdown pass play.

Michael Valencia hauls in a pass and holds onto the ball in traffic.

Quarterback Brent Boehm shows his versatility by tucking the ball away and running upfield.