The Verdugo Hills football team’s aggressive defense dominated Friday night in a 31-2 win over Fulton.
The Dons won the East Valley League matchup and improved to 2-0 in league play—a perfect homecoming for Dons head coach Sean Jackson who previously coached the Jaguars.
“We’ve been really focusing on defense the whole year,” said Jackson. “That’s got to be our staple. Defense wins championships, so I give ourselves an A today but the offense needs some work. Now we just got to go back to the drawing board and be better next week to be ready for Arleta.”
Verdugo Hills held the Jaguars to just 122 total yards and didn’t allow any points.
Matthew Valenzuela and Jack Ifrate recorded two interceptions each for the Dons. Valenzuela returned one of them 65 yards for a touchdown.
Verdugo Hills also forced two safeties and never allowed the Jaguars any offensive momentum. Aaron Calica led Fulton with 42 rushing yards.
The Jaguars did all they could on offense and made some quarterback changes midgame. Even that wasn’t enough to spark anything on offense with both quarterbacks throwing interceptions.
“Clearly Verdugo Hills played an outstanding game,” said Jaguars head coach Randy Luna. “It’s all about the next man up mentality. If we are not there then these are the results we are going to get. Right here it shows the growth from the first half to the second half. I know these boys can execute moving forward.”
Verdugo Hills also had trouble moving the ball, finishing with only 168 total yards. The defense gave the Dons great field position, setting up three offensive touchdowns.
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Ifrate also made the most of the limited opportunities the Dons had on offense. Needing just three touches, Ifrate picked up 35 total yards and a touchdown.
“Our defense was locked on,” said Ifrate. “Having guys like (Genaro Zazueta) and (Ben Love) as mega run stoppers just makes my life easier. I always try to put my all out there on defense and offense. Really my goal is to always get at least one offensive touchdown and two interceptions and I’m just happy to have reached that goal today. Of course, since it was coach Jackson’s homecoming I especially wanted to get the win for him.”