2-1 Falcons play Wilcox Chargers tonight
Sep 25, 2008 | 26 views | 0 
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Once again, the Scotts Valley football team is preparing to play a school twice its size — this time, the Wilcox Chargers at 7:30 p.m. today, Sept. 26, in Santa Clara.
“They’re big like Leland and athletic like Alice (Texas),” Falcon coach Louie Walters said, comparing the Chargers to his team’s first two opponents. “They’re a quality opponent in a tough league, but our goal is to get better for the league games to come.”
The Falcons certainly enjoyed their first taste of SCCAL action last week as they outclassed a young Pajaro Valley program, 37-7.
From the kickoff it was clear that Scotts Valley was facing a different level of competition compared to the previous two weeks’ hard-fought matches against Alice, Texas, and Leland High in San Jose.
The Falcons’ first four plays from scrimmage produced four first downs, and Kyle Hardwick punched in a 3-yard touchdown run on the seventh play of the 80-yard drive.
That was the first of four touchdowns the speedy halfback notched on the day, as he added scoring runs of 12 and 13 yards, along with a 12-yard touchdown reception.
Hardwick regularly displayed the brilliance Falcon fans got to see regularly last year, leaving Grizzly defenders grasping at air after he seemed to be penned in.
Hardwick’s four scores tied a school record set by Brian Cosgrove seven years ago, and he finished with 104 yards on the ground and 20 as a receiver, almost all recorded in the first half.
With the score 30-0 at halftime, Walters rested Hardwick, allowing Blaine Bariteau to grind out the clock and keep the chains moving. Bariteau scored on a 19-yard run in the third quarter and finished with 77 yards on nine carries.
Wilcox is expected to offer a different level of competition tonight. Although the Chargers are 0-2 following narrow losses to Terra Nova and a tough San Benito team, they’re a large, physical squad that’s expected to put the Falcons’ run defense to the test.
Senior quarterback Cory Murphy leads the offense in his third year of varsity play. He paces Wilcox’s option-based attack, which usually runs behind the team’s two 230-pound linemen, Andre Reed and Jon Gonzales.
If Murphy’s not keeping the ball, he’s got a ying and yang of running backs to get it to — bruising 5-foot-11, 230-pound fullback Anthony Pohau or speedster Ruben Zendejas, whose 5-foot-6 frame tips the scales at 145 pounds.
Pohau is also the team’s middle linebacker and was its leading tackler last year.
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