By Aaron Coloma

The Cleveland Cavaliers claimed sole possession of second place in the West Valley League after shutting the El Camino Royals out in the second half to secure a 21-20 victory.

Cleveland dug a hole for themselves with seven penalties in the first half, but their defense came up big in the second, forcing two turnovers on their way to the win.

“We knew these last two games were huge for us as far as rankings go,” said Cleveland head coach Mario Guzman. “Was hoping to score more points but just happy to get out with the W.”

Cleveland received the opening kickoff, but were unable to do anything with it, punting the ball after only moving 12 yards up the field. They got the ball back quickly, however, as linebacker Cobe Green intercepted the Royals’ second offensive play of the game on the El Camino 16 yard line. A 1-yard touchdown rush from quarterback Domenik Fuentes gave the Cavs a 7-0 lead with 4:25 remaining in the first quarter.

El Camino wide receiver Jayden Williams wasted no time trying to get his team back into the game, as he returned the ensuing kickoff to the Cleveland 30 yard line. Adryon Walker took advantage of the favorable field position, taking the ball 20 yards to the house to tie the game 7-7 two plays later.

The Royals got themselves in trouble on Cleveland’s next drive, giving up 20 yards on two penalties. The Cavaliers found themselves in the red zone, then on the one-yard line just before the end of the first quarter. El Camino didn’t falter, as they managed to stuff the Cavs offense and turn the ball over on downs on their goal line.

Walker and Williams continued to pose problems for Cleveland on the following drive, combining for 99 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown reception from Williams. A blocked extra point kept the score at 13-7 with 8:37 to go in the half. The Royals’ momentum carried to the defensive side of the ball as well, as they forced a three-and-out on the Cavs next drive.

Five Cleveland penalties moved El Camino into the red zone after receiving the punt, where Williams would score his second touchdown of the day, a 12-yard catch to make the score 20-7 with 4:52 left before the break.

“Halftime we just had to adjust, play smarter,” said Guzman. “The penalties were huge. One of our pillars is to play fast and physical, so to tell these kids to scale it back was tough.”

The Cavaliers refused to go away, scoring less than 90 seconds later through running back Brandon Maldonado to keep the score within one possession heading into halftime.

“These kids are resilient, they’ve been overcoming adversity all year.” said Guzman. “I’ve been coaching for 10, 11 years now and this is the most resilient bunch I’ve ever had.”

Cleveland came out of the break ready to go, turning El Camino over on downs to kick off the half. The offensive side of the ball was no different, as Isaac Delgado ended a 53-yard drive with a 1-yard rush to give the Cavaliers a 21-20 lead with 5:18 left in the third quarter.

After forcing yet another three-and-out, Cleveland returned the ball into El Camino territory, but ultimately turned the ball over off of a fumbled snap, giving the Royals the opportunity to snag a late lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter. They wouldn’t be able to do so, however, as a collision in the backfield and a fumble on the very next play returned possession to the Cavaliers.

“The turnovers are a huge part of the game,” said El Camino head coach Jason Sabolic. “Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do about it. We had an individual who wasn’t familiar with the play. When you have guys getting dinged up and you have individuals stepping in, sometimes they just haven’t gotten the reps necessary. It was one of those plays which added insult to injury.”

Williams was injured on the play and was unable to return to the game, limiting El Camino’s offensive options for the fourth quarter.

“You can tell the momentum changed when he exited the field,” said Sabolic. “It’s tough, they go to double covering our other receivers and they did a good job.”

A defensive battle persisted throughout the fourth quarter, with neither team able to string together a drive into the red zone. El Camino received the ball with 5:37 remaining on the clock, and began to march down the field, once again threatening to score. With less than a minute left, the Royals took a chance and heaved the ball to the end zone only for defensive back Ruben Lopez to pick the ball off and fall to the floor, effectively ending the game and securing a narrow 21-20 victory for Cleveland.

“We battled through it,” said Sabolic. “It was a tough game. No questions about it. We just came up a little short. We look to finish strong, look to gain some momentum going into playoffs.”

Both teams will close out West Valley League play Nov. 1 at 7:00 p.m. El Camino will travel to Chatsworth, hoping to return to winning ways, and Cleveland will host Taft as they look to secure second place in the league.