Rancho Verde finding plenty of options

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After a delayed start, it looks like Rancho Verde receiver Andrew Bouvay will have an early exit. Bouvay was carried off the field on the third play of the second half with an apparent ankle injury.

Rancho Verde quarterback Justin Salazar didn’t seem to fret, however, connecting with William Jenkins on a 60-yard pass down the sideline, then hitting Terrance Miller with an nine-yard touchdown pass for a 17-7 lead.

Just as I was telling somebody that Norco would have trouble coming back from a 10-point deficit with its run-oriented offense, the Cougars moved down the field and scored on a 16-yard halfback-option pass to cut the deficit to 17-14.

The Mustangs answered with some solid running from Daniel Jenkins, then Salazar found William Jenkins for a 26-yard touchdown pass, again down the left sideline, giving Rancho Verde a 24-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Norco just completed a long pass down the middle of the field, but the ball was stripped during the run and DeShawn Grayson recovered for Rancho Verde.

Just before that, I heard a Rancho Verde assistant coach say into his headphones, ‘The first one to play defense wins.’ He must have had a premonition.

-- Dan Arritt