Oversized and overmatched are the best words to describe the David and Goliath matchup at Hanapepe Stadium on Friday night, as Valley Center (Calif.) dominated Waimea, 45-7. From the start, the Jaguars preyed on the Menehune, who weren’t able to
Oversized and overmatched are the best words to describe the David and Goliath matchup at Hanapepe Stadium on Friday night, as Valley Center (Calif.) dominated Waimea, 45-7.
From the start, the Jaguars preyed on the Menehune, who weren’t able to keep up with the defending division III CIF champions.
“It was great the way we came out, defensively we were sound and offensively we did some great things,” Valley Center head coach Rob Gilster said.
It was their very first time to Kaua‘i and certainly not their last. But according to Jags wideout Trevor Reilly, the next time they travel over the Pacific Ocean, they’d better be in better shape.
“Basically our team bogged down in the second half and got lazy, but Waimea played us really tough down the stretch,” Reilly said.
The senior, who’s headed to Texas Tech University next season, was on the receiving end of one of two touchdowns thrown by senior quarterback Dustin Aschbrenner, who put Valley Center on the board first with a nice 25-yard bomb to Mario Mendez with just under seven minutes to go in the first quarter.
Jaguar kicker Justin Vosburg’s leg was golden all night. The junior was perfect in extra point attempts (6-6) and also connected on the game’s only field goal. The Jags pounced on the Menehune early with three touchdowns in the second quarter for the 31-0 lead at the half.
After a 27-yard Vosburg field goal, Victor Mendellin marched 10 yards for the score and Aschbrenner’s 5-yard TD pass to Reilly with a little over eight minutes in the second quarter, made the score 24-0 in favor of Valley Center.
Mendez came up big in the special teams department as well, by blocking a Waimea punt, scooping up the pigskin, and running it into the endzone for the 31-0 commanding lead.
The Menehune defense buckled down in the second half and allowed only one Jaguar score the rest of the way.
Waimea put its first points on the board with around five minutes to go in the contest, as Alan-Michael Gaspar hooked up with Regal Carveiro for a 2-yard touchdown pass play. Kenny Estes nailed the PAT, but Valley Center answered back just two minutes later, as Ron Battaglia scored on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Ingalls, which made the final tally, 45-7 in favor of Valley Center.
According to Gilster, the team didn’t know what to expect going into the game.
“Usually we’ll get some film of a team, but we didn’t receive anything from Waimea, but we adjusted well,” Gilster said.
He also noted that Waimea played tough despite being a considerably smaller school compared to Valley Center.
“They hit us hard and they played hard as well,” Gilster said.
During their trip to Kaua‘i, the team enjoyed the scenery, the luaus, the kayaking trip, hiking Na Pali Coast, but most of all, riding the good surf.
“I love Kaua‘i. The people here are so nice. I asked someone for some kalua pig and they took me to place where they had it,” Reilly said.
After the game, the sportsmanship and “Aloha Spirit” rang through, as the Waimea contingent hosted the Valley Center group to a dinner, complete with all the local’s favorite dishes.
“We’ll definitely be back. This is just an amazing place with amazing people,” Gilster said.
As the two teams gathered after the game, it was evident that the final score didn’t matter, instead new friendships were made and a mutual respect for the two different cultures was cemented.
