Thursday, Aug. 17, marked the start of prep football in the Southwest Riverside County region, which is both exciting and stressful for everyone involved. As for our sports department, all Zero Week eyes were keyed in on what would take place in Temecula as the Big West Division, now in its sophomore season, kicked things off with a battle between the co-champs from the Lower Division, Great Oak, who took on Upper Division powerhouse, Vista Murrieta.
This was the return game for head coach Coley Candaele, who founded the Vista Murrieta program when the school opened in the fall of 2003. After a quick seven-year hiatus, Candaele wasted no time making his return a triumphant one. A strong passing attack from Bryson Beaver was a huge factor as he threw for 285 yards and four touchdowns en route to a 34-10 win over Great Oak.
It was a tight first half between the two former Southwestern League foes with Vista Murrieta jumping ahead first when Sebastian Stapleton drilled a 43-yard field goal with 3:22 left in the opening quarter. Great Oak would go ahead for the only time in the game when they answered back immediately after Cole Vasquez hit Jake Schuck for a 14-yard TD late in the first quarter.
Beaver would connect with Brody Guinn on an 18-yard touchdown pass with just over two minutes remaining in the first half to help give the Broncos a 10-7 lead, but the Wolfpack tied things up before halftime with a 32-yard field goal by Alejandro Colina.
Things looked good for the home team coming out of the break, until Vista Murrieta’s A.J. Jones not only returned the second half kickoff to the middle of the field, but then caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Beaver to help Vista Murrieta regain the lead and never look back. A series of turnovers would leave Great Oak scratching their heads as Vista Murrieta would score 24 unanswered points on their way to victory. Guinn had eight catches for 133 yards, while Jones and Sean McCullough each hauled in four passes for a combined 88 yards. Vasquez threw for 192 yards, and J.T. Trevino had eight catches for 95 yards.
Other Zero Week wins came from Elsinore, Orange Vista, Perris, CMI, Rancho Christian, Tahquitz, Paloma Valley, Liberty, and Linfield Christian. The Lions took out Maranatha with Braden Sotis, Micah Little, Marcus Dylke and Jeremy Maloney all being selected players of the game.
Here are the Week Zero scores of high school football games involving area teams:
Thursday 8/17
Nonleague
Elsinore – 29, Grand Terrace – 6
Orange Vista – 27, Lakewood – 20
Vista Murrieta – 34, Great Oak – 10
Friday 8/18
Nonleague
California Military Institute – 15, Hamilton – 14
San Clemente – 20, Chaparral – 10
Redlands – 42, Citrus Hill – 0
Linfield Christian – 42, Maranatha Christian – 7
Summit – 33, Los Osos – 13
Maranatha – 24, Lakeside – 10
Perris – 29, Morningside – 0
Ocean View – 45, Nuview Bridge – 12
West Valley – 48, Pacific – 0
Rancho Christian – 31, Layton Christian Academy – 28
Rancho Cucamonga – 29, Murrieta Valley – 27
Rancho Mirage – 28, Hemet – 25
Beaumont – 34, San Jacinto – 17
Steele Canyon – 45, Heritage – 3
Tahquitz – 40, Chaffey – 16
Charter Oak – 24, Temecula Valley – 14
Paloma Valley – 28, Temescal Canyon – 17
Tesoro – 27, Murrieta Mesa – 7
Liberty – 53, Valley View – 0
Saturday 8/19
Nonleague
Santa Rosa Academy – 42, San Jacinto Valley Academy – 6
This season the Valley News Sports Department will be teaming up with Inland Sports and will be on the sidelines at as many games as we can be, but due to print space and manpower, it may be in more of a limited coverage area. If your team is not getting the coverage they deserve, please share photos and stats by utilizing the contact information at the end of this article.
*All stats, schedules, photos, and scores are supplied by local high school athletic directors, MaxPreps, CIF-SS offices, contributing writers/photographers and countless fans of the games via social media. Is your team’s score missing? Let us know if your school is inside our coverage area and would like to be mentioned.
JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia.com.
