After beating the #1 team in San Diego, the Dons traveled north up the 15 to visit the 9th-ranked team in the entire country, the Vista Murrieta Broncos. Although the task seemed daunting, the Dons were amped and confident, especially sophomore quarterback Clayton Dale who is stepping in for an injured Garrett Bogart.
When game day rolled around, Dale seemed poised and confident. “My teammates have been very supportive of me and have instilled a lot of confidence in me. I worked hard in the offseason with Garrett, especially improving my footwork. We don’t look at numbers and rankings – just like last week, rankings just don’t matter to us,” said Dale.
From the beginning, it was obvious the Dons weren’t backing down. The Dons took the opening kickoff of the game and launched a six-minute drive that resulted in a 36-yard field goal by Christian Fanning and a 3-0 lead. The very next possession for the Dons led to another lengthy drive, over eight minutes off the clock. Unfortunately, Fanning couldn’t convert a 38-yard field goal, but the Dons still held fast to a 3-0 lead over the Broncos after the first quarter.
The Dons soon realized, though, why the Broncos are a top ten, nationally ranked team. Vista Murrieta took the ball 80 yards down the field and scored a rushing touchdown to take a 7-3 lead. But once again, the Dons refused to back down. The Dons special teams stepped up as junior Daniel Kampfer recovered a muffed punt by the Broncos. This turnover set up Cathedral deep in Broncos territory. Nine plays and 24 yards later, running back Tony Johnson dove into the end zone to take a 10-7 lead late in the first half. Right before halftime expired, senior Connor Larkin intercepted a pass in Cathedral territory, and the Dons took the 10-7 lead into halftime.
Entering the fourth quarter with the score still 10-7, the Broncos recaptured the lead with 7 minutes to go on a 1-yard rushing touchdown to make the score 14-10. As time dwindled down to a minute to go, the Dons drove down the field and were threatening to score. Clayton Dale hit Chris Moliga on a 20-yard completion, but on the very next play, the pass rush of Vista Murrieta was too much. Dale was blitzed and fumbled. Vista Murrieta pounced on the fumble and returned it 50 yards for the clinching touchdown and a 21-10 lead. Dale played very solid though, finishing with 90 yards in the air. The Dons played tough but couldn’t prevail as they lost to the Broncos 21-10.
Although the Dons lost on Friday night, they showed everyone that they could play with the elite and are a powerhouse in San Diego County. Look for the Dons to bounce back next week against Morse (1-3), and improve their record to 3-2.