Glendale football falls to Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary in season opener

For the first game of the season, it turned out to be about what Glendale High football second-year Coach George Maiale expected from his team.

At least Maiale and the Nitros will have a couple of weeks to regroup following a 21-13 nonleague road defeat against Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary on Friday night.

Glendale yielded 10 fourth-quarter points and saw Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary senior wide receiver Dawit Wilson turn in an explosive effort. Wilson caught 13 passes for 201 yards and caught three touchdown passes to send Glendale to its 10th loss in a row.

“We knew he would get his plays,” Maiale said. “He made a lot of big plays and that turned out to be a big reason for their success. We had a good idea that could happen.

“We also made a lot of mistakes on both sides of the ball and our bye will come at a good time, because we’ll have a chance to clean a lot of things up. A lot of the mistakes we made are typical for an opening game and we’ll look to get back on track.”

Glendale held a 13-12 lead entering the fourth quarter before Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary took charge.

John Velasquez converted on a 29-yard field goal with 7:53 remaining to give the Cardinals a 15-13 lead. Wilson then caught a 50-yard touchdown pass down the right side from quarterback Christian Valenzuela, who completed 20 of 22 passes for 284 yards, to close out the scoring with 3:53 left.

On the ensuing possession, Glendale saw its bid to come back fall short after it turned the ball over on downs at midfield with 2:50 to go.

“We had a chance toward the end, but we just couldn’t convert,” said Maiale, whose team will next compete Sept. 9 in a nonleague road contest against La Cañada. “We had some time toward the end and they made a couple of key plays on defense. We just have to learn from it and we’ll regroup.”

The Cardinals, ranked eighth in CIF Southern Section Division XIII, opened the scoring when Wilson caught a 20-yard pass to make it 6-0 with 1:58 left in the first quarter.

Glendale knotted it at 6 when running back Nate Huila scored on a 13-yard run with 3:14 left in the second quarter. The Nitros took a 13-6 lead on a 31-yard run by senior quarterback Tyler Artavia with 1:31 to go in the first half.

However, Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary pulled to within 13-12 after Wilson hauled in a nine-yard pass from Valenzuela with 18 seconds to play.

“That was a big touchdown toward the end of the first half,” Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary first-year Coach Travis Brown said. “A guy like Dawit can open up a lot and he knows where he should be at the right time.

“Glendale had us on the ropes throughout a lot of the game. Their quarterback did a real good job.”

Artavia completed five of 21 passes for 45 yards and threw three interceptions. Artavia had more success on the ground, as he rushed for 104 yards in 19 carries.

“I was a little bit nervous,” Artavia said. “I’ll calm down and take a deep breath before the next game and fix some things.

“We did everything we could to try to win. We just made a few too many mistakes.”

Glendale finished with 150 yards rushing. Huiza had 31 yards rushing in 11 carries.

Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary rolled up 327 yards of offense.