Glendale runs past San Gabriel to open with ‘W’
SAN GABRIEL — Glendale High began its football season against a familiar foe as the Nitros opened up against San Gabriel for the third year in a row and the second consecutive time on the Matadors’ home field. However, this time, the Nitros had a new coach in George Maiale, who would unveil a new offense helmed by a new quarterback.
When the final whistle sounded it was once again the Nitros who got the best of it, although this time in a tight affair, as Glendale delivered a victory in Maiale’s debut by defeating the Matadors, 27-17, in a nonleague contest Friday night.
“This one was a fun one. It was a real battle to the end, so I’m glad we came away with a win,” Maiale, formerly the defensive coordinator at St. Genevieve, said. “That’s all we wanted to do tonight. It wasn’t pretty, but we did it.”
The win marks the third in a row for Glendale (1-0) over San Gabriel to begin the football season now by a combined score of 103-20. Overall, the Nitros have won four of their last five season openers.
The game against San Gabriel (0-2) saw Tyler Artavia take his first snap at the varsity level as the Glendale starting quarterback. In the fourth quarter after San Gabriel had pulled to within a field goal with 4:51 to go, Artavia took the first snap of the ensuing possession 55 yards on the ground for a score, only to see it reduced to a 40-yard gain by a Nitros penalty. Undeterred, Glendale pounded away, with the junior quarterback finishing the drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown.
“We are going to go as far as he goes,” Maiale said. “He played his butt off tonight.”
San Gabriel got the ball back, but could not score, as Nitro Joseph Martinez intercepted the Matadors quarterback as the scoreboard clock hit zeros.
On the Nitros’ second drive, Artavia flashed his speed for the first time. Off a run option, the junior pulled the ball out of his tailback’s arms and took off, sprinting 74 yards down the left side for the go-ahead touchdown with 4:22 left in the first half. The snap on the ensuing point-after attempt went awry, setting the Nitro lead at 6.
“It was the line,” Artavia said. “They made a hole for me and I took it. So as soon as that hole was open I just took the opportunity and scored.”
Artavia’s first completion of the season came in the final minute of the second quarter, going 13 yards to Matthew Benjanian. The teams went into halftime with Glendale maintaining that margin at 13-7, despite having run 11 plays on offense, in comparison to 41 for the hosts.
In total, Artavia led all rushers with 156 yards on 12 carries and the two scores. Through the air, he was three of five for 19 yards. Nitros running back Carlos Ramos had 57 yards on seven carries. Glendale’s Riel Simpao had four carries for 17 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown run to the left side early in the fourth quarter after San Gabriel had pulled to within three.
The first points for Glendale of the new campaign came from their senior captain Abraham Martinez on special teams, with 10:22 left in the second quarter. With San Gabriel lined up to punt, the snap flew over the punter’s head, pursued by Martinez, who blocked the would-be kicker out of the way and then scooped up the ball, rumbling 19 yards for a touchdown with Matadors draped around him for the final few yards. The ensuing PAT knotted the score at 7. Martinez also had a first-half sack and was all over the field throughout the contest until going down with injury in the game’s final minute.
“He did get a little dinged up,” Maiale said. “[Took] a helmet to the knee. Hopefully he is OK.”
The Matadors dominated time of possession throughout the contest with their ground attack. It started with their opening drive, which covered 65 yards in 13 plays and spanned the first 6:48 of the game. The drive was capped by a five-yard touchdown run by Milton Peraza, San Gabriel’s first points of the young season after being shut out in their opener last week at home. However, all told the possession advantage did not translate easily or quickly into points, allowing Glendale to stay ahead.
“We’ve got some things to work on but right now [we’re] going to celebrate,” Artavia said. “It was a good game and a good opponent. We’ve just got to get better and better.”
With Glendale’s win on Friday, San Gabriel is now 0-7 against Pacific League competition since 2009. Up next for the Nitros will be a home game at Moyse Stadium against La Cañada on Friday.