Bulldogs’ Sandy gains astounding 421 yards & 5 TDs in loss

Heading into the postseason, the 7-3 Arleta Mustangs had momentum on their side having won five of their last six games to close the season. Their regular season output earned them the top seed in the CIF L.A. City Section Division II Playoffs, but their opponent wasn’t your ordinary sixteenth seed. The reigning CIF Division III champion Jordan Bulldogs came into Friday afternoon’s first round contest with an identical record & the second-leading rusher in the state of California in Senior dual-threat quarterback David Sandy. The two teams clashed in a shootout, before Arleta extended their fourth quarter lead into a 58-34 victory after a leg injury forced Sandy out of the contest.

The Bulldogs took possession of the football on the opening drive where Sandy broke off two big 24-yard & 28-yard runs to put them in red zone territory. With six interceptions on the season, Arleta senior safety Erik Favela added one more takeaway to his repertoire by recovering a Sandy fumble. The Mustangs offense took advantage of penalties from the Bulldogs when junior quarterback Austin Ramos tossed a 28-yard bomb to set up an opening drive rushing score from senior Pablo Gurrola for an early 7-0 lead. 

Sandy responded quickly on the first play of the following drive with a 63-yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 8-7 advantage after a successful two-point conversion. Jordan regained the ball when they recovered an Arleta fumble on the subsequent kickoff return. Deep in Arleta territory, Sandy punched in a 17-yard score for his second of the day to give Jordan a 14-7 first quarter lead after a failed two-point try. 

The Mustangs offense retook the field where they put the ball in the hands of junior running back Jose Rosas. He continuously moved the chains throughout the drive into goal line territory before Ramos tied the game at 14-14 with a touchdown on a QB sneak with under a minute left in the first quarter. 

The next drive for the Bulldogs took the game into the second quarter, where Sandy used his arm on a 57-yard bomb to senior wideout Amauri Powns. Favorably set at the Arleta 9-yard line, Sandy scored his third rushing touchdown of the first half as Jordan regained the lead at 22-14 following the two-point  conversion. Both teams turned the ball over on downs on their next drives before Arleta took the ball at the Jordan 31-yard line with 2:25 left in the first half. 

Arleta senior wide receiver Christopher Ubaldo hauled in a 21-yard reception to set up a 10-yard touchdown run from Rosas to tie the game at 22-22 after the successful two point conversion. Powns put Jordan in favorable field position in Arleta territory with a 33-yard kickoff return. Sandy completed a 38-yard pass to senior wideout and team captain Quran Hendrix before he converted a 7-yard rushing touchdown for his fourth of the first half. 

Trailing 28-22 with only thirty-six seconds remaining in the half, the Mustangs refused to take a knee to go into halftime. Ramos threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Rosas to swing the momentum their way heading into the locker room with a 29-28 lead.

Ramos took advantage of what he saw from the Jordan defense on the touchdown score. “We had a lot of runs [in the first half], so I’m pretty sure they weren’t expecting the pass.”, he stated postgame, “I was watching the safety the whole time, even though we were running.” Rosas emphasized his on-field rapport with Ramos postgame, “I trust my quarterback. He trusts me. I’m always open, baby!” 

Arleta had possession of the football to start the second half when Favela got involved in the ground game with a big run to put Arleta in Bulldogs territory. An offside penalty from the Jordan defense on 4th & 3 set up a 25-yard yard reception scored by Ubaldo to take a 36-28 lead. On the second play on the opening second half drive from Jordan, Sandy ripped off a 72-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 36-34 after they couldn’t convert the two-point attempt. 

Arleta returned to the ground game on their following possession as Ramos showed off his legs to move the ball. He notably converted on 4th & 15 with a 16-yard run, which led to his second rushing touchdown of the afternoon to bring the score to 42-34 after an Arleta missed extra point. 

With 4:48 left in the third quarter, Jordan chewed up the clock by using the running game before Sandy completed a 20-yard pass to Powns on the last play of the third quarter. The game was stopped on the first play of the fourth quarter when Sandy unfortunately suffered a leg injury that would keep him out for the remainder of the game. Dealing with the emotional toll of Sandy’s injury, Junior backup quarterback Aayvin Sagastume couldn’t convert a fourth down attempt as the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs. 

The Mustangs went back to Favela in the ground game on their subsequent drive as he powered in a 47-yard rushing touchdown to take a 49-34 lead with 8:59 left in the game. Jordan was backed into their own six-yard line on the kickoff return when Arleta senior defensive end Xavier Benitez gave his team two more points with a safety. Arleta took advantage of penalty yardage from Jordan on their next drive. 

Senior fullback Alexsander Cruz added a goal-line touchdown run to put an exclamation point on the 58-34 victory. Favela finished the afternoon with six carries for 138 yards and a rushing touchdown. Ramos had 170 yards through the air and 72 yards on the ground with three total touchdowns. Rosas finished with 167 all-purpose yards with two total touchdowns. 

Arleta Head Coach Bill Coan complimented the outstanding outing from Sandy and the Bulldogs team. “They’re a better team than what they were seeded.”, he stated, “Their running back [Sandy] was extremely fast. He’s still running in my mind.” The Mustangs will host the Dr. Maya Angelou Community Phoenix next week for the CIF Quarterfinals matchup at 1:30 pm.