Prep Football: Apple Valley blanks Serrano in the Mojave River League opener
Heading into Thursday night's Mojave River League opener, the deck was stacked against the Serrano football team.
Starting quarterback Payton Cornell suffered a season-ending injury against Victor Valley a week before taking on a team ranked 33rd best in the state.
When the smoke settled, Apple Valley shutout Serrano 50-0 at Snowline Stadium to kick off MRL action.
“We wish that we could play them at full strength. They got a heck of a staff and program over there,” Apple Valley head coach Kyle Godfrey said.
Coming into the MRL opener, Godfrey stressed the importance of matching up with Serrano, the historical powerhouse in the league.
Not to mention, the Diamondbacks captured the CIF-Southern Southern Division 8 championship last season.
“We came in knowing in the last 20 years, I think we’ve only won here twice at their home stadium so we came in knowing we had to execute,” Apple Valley quarterback Noah Celie said.
From the jump, Apple Valley’s defense gave Serrano problems. Running back Markus Maholchic was getting shut down by Apple Valley’s defensive line and quarterback JJ Kavanaugh wasn’t able to get much going through the air.
Serrano’s first first down of the game came at the end of the second quarter due to a flag on Apple Valley.
Serrano’s offense opened up slightly with Rigo Cabral’s speed in the second half but it was not enough to score.
Each time Apple Valley got the ball in the first half, the offense scored. Running backs Xavier Salazar and Dustin Reynolds got some big runs early on, opening up the passing game for Celie, who threw for four touchdowns and ran another in.
What it means
The Sun Devils kick off league play with a statement victory over Serrano, with the looming showdown against Oak Hills for the league title three weeks away.
As for the Diamondbacks, losing Cornell is a huge blow and it showed Thursday night. Serrano still figures to be in contention for third place in the MRL.
By the numbers
9 — The number of different receivers Celie connected on passes with.
36 — The number of total offensive yards Serrano picked up in the first half.
6 — The number of penalties accrued by both teams during Serrano’s final drive of the first half. The drive resulted in a missed field goal.
Game balls
Celie threw just 17 passes but was proficient with most of them. He threw for 154 yards and four touchdowns, to go along with one rushing touchdown.
Much like Celie, Salazar was efficient in the limited touches he had. Salazar ran for 107 yards on eight carries.
They said it
Celie on his ability to connect with multiple receivers each game: “It’s just continuous practice with them. It’s definitely props to Coach Godfrey. He gets a good rotation and makes sure all of them get consistent reps and the same amount of work.”
Godfrey on what this win means to him after facing Serrano as a player and as a coach from years past: “These kids don’t really understand that Serrano is a traditional powerhouse. I played in the early 2000s and we got our ass kicked by them. My early coaching years and we got our ass kicked by them. So as a program this is a good win for us. For me personally, it’s a big win because if we beat Serrano I’m happy cause I just got our ass kicked from them for years.”
What’s next
Serrano will look to get on track with its new-look offense as against Burroughs at home Oct. 7, while Apple Valley is back on the road against Sultana on Oct. 6.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Prep Football: Apple Valley blanks Serrano in the Mojave River League opener
