Football: In 71-70 win, Norco junior QB Victor Viramontes is the standout
Norco and Corona Centennial are five miles apart, so there must have been a full moon or something in the air on Friday night to explain what happened on the football fields of the two neighborhood rivals.
Norco beat St. Bonaventure, 71-70, in triple overtime. Centennial beat Gardena Serra, 68-64. That’s 273 points combined in a pair of Pac-5 Division playoff openers.
For Norco, the game will provide fans outside of the area a new appreciation for one of the best option quarterbacks in Southern California. That would be 6-foot-2 Norco junior Victor Viramontes.
According to statistics compiled by the Ventura County Star, Viramontes rushed for 324 yards, passed for 214 yards and accounted for eight touchdowns, including five running. Remember, Norco has been known for the Gerhart brothers. Now Viramontes has thrust himself into Norco lore as a player lots will want to get to know.
USC-bound quarterback Ricky Town of St. Bonaventure didn’t go down quietly. He tied a school record with six touchdown passes and finished with 374 yards passing.
The Pac-5 quarterfinal matchups next Friday will be St. John Bosco at Norco; Long Beach Poly at Crespi; Centennial vs. Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium; Bishop Amat vs. JSerra.
It will be tough to duplicate what happened in the five-mile stretch between Norco and Corona Centennial.
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