By Aaron Coloma

The La Cañada Spartans capitalized on early mistakes to triumph over the Crescenta Valley Falcons 17-7 Friday evening.

Spartans defensive lineman Wokosin River recovered a fumble by Falcons running back Leonidas Grant on the opening play of the game to put La Cañada 23 yards from the end zone. They would score a touchdown through a 5-yard run two plays later after consecutive penalty calls against Crescenta Valley.

The Spartans’ defensive efforts didn’t stop there, however, as defensive back Brandon Mohaghegh recovered the second Falcons fumble in as many plays to put La Cañada just outside of the red zone once again. Crescenta Valley’s defense held La Cañada to a field goal, which extended their lead to 10-0 halfway through the first quarter.

The Falcons put together a promising drive on the following possession, marching down the field and converting a crucial fourth down pass to Grant. However, on the next play, Grant fumbled the ball before crossing into the end zone at the end of a 20-yard run. The ball entered the end zone and bounced out of bounds, resulting in a touchback and returning possession to La Cañada.

“Conditioning-wise we were a little out of it,” Falcons Head Coach Hudson Gossard said. “When you’re tired you then make those mental mistakes. Being in our first game, you could tell we weren’t as sharp as we should have been.”

The Falcons had one more chance with the ball before the end of the half, but couldn’t convert despite a promising drive.

Down 17-0, Crescenta Valley threw a deep pass to try to claw their way back, but defensive back Cole Parisi intercepted it to shift possession back into his team’s hands. Despite bringing their drive into Falcons territory, the Spartans would turn the ball over on downs. 

After a clutch third down conversion from Falcons running back Julian Savery, quarterback Dominic Saris found Xavier Thompson with a 44-yard completion to end the third quarter at La Cañada’s 23-yard line. Grant finished the drive with a 5-yard rush for a touchdown, reducing the deficit to 17-7.

With time working against them, Crescenta Valley moved the ball quickly down the field as Saris and Savery connected for a 41-yard gain. Despite their efforts, two penalties put them in an unlikely second-and-25 situation. Following three incompletions, the Falcons turned the ball over on downs. Crescenta Valley took 95 penalty yards throughout the game.

“Looking back we shot ourselves in the foot several times,” said Gossard. “We battled a little bit better in the second half, but in terms of penalties, that just killed us.”

On the final possession of the drive, La Cañada kept the ball on the ground and bled the clock. An automatic first down, rewarded for a facemask call, sealed the game as quarterback Joe Bell took a knee for a 17-7 victory. Despite the result, Gossard remained optimistic for the rest of the season.

“It’s one game, it doesn’t change the outlook,” said Gossard. “We told them that. It’s one game, gotta learn from it. We’ll continue to fight and figure it out.”

Crescenta Valley will travel to South Pasadena Sept. 6 in search of their first win of the young season. La Cañada will defend their undefeated start at home against Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary Sept. 5 at 7:00 p.m.

Photos Courtesy of Arshavir Saryan