This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Safety Is the Difference as La Jolla Edges West Hills

Vikings use a solid ground game to offset the passing of Pack's Rashaan Miller.

Claiming a close loss is not what West Hills High coach Tay Sneddon had in mind, as was heading into week three of the season with an 0-2 mark. The Wolf Pack narrowly missed a chance to claim their first win in Friday night’s 23-21 loss to visiting La Jolla.

Make no mistake about it, West Hills has put up some good numbers, including quarterback Rashaan Miller, who completed 15 of 27 passes for 216 yards and two touchdowns against the Vikings.

But La Jolla was able to offset those numbers with a ground game that rushed for 277 yards on 44 carries. Kenneth Martey led the way with 94 yards on just eight carries.

Find out what's happening in Santeewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On their first possession, the Wolf Pack would score on a 37-yard Miller pass to Justin Verkest with 8:10 left to play in the first quarter.

However, Vikings running back Mark Pollan (11 caries, 67 yards) would quickly quiet the home crowd with a 5-yard burst into the end zone, leaving the score tied at 7 -7.

Find out what's happening in Santeewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

La Jolla capitalized on a bad center snap for a safety to lead 9-7 at halftime, and that would prove the difference. Chris Lachance would be credited with the two-pointer.

The teams would continue to trade scores in the second half. With one touchdown each in the third quarter, La Jolla clung to a 16-14 lead as the final period opened.

With Martey and Chance Abbott scoring in the second half, La Jolla built a 23-14 lead, but the Wolf Pack drove 73 yards in eight plays in the closing minutes to narrow the margin to within 23-21.

An onside kick attempt went out of bounds, giving the Vikings (1-1) the ball and the victory.

Special to Patch.com from East County Sports.com

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?