Led by talented trio, Glendale High football thumps San Gabriel
SAN GABRIEL — With school in session and the summer behind it, it was time to see how all the offseason work translated to the field, as the Glendale High football team went on the road to open its season against San Gabriel.
The Nitros are counting on the combination of running backs Daniel Jung and Luis Ruiz, along with receiver Ricky Loudermill, to drive their offense, with all three also manning the defensive secondary. The trio came through, leading the way in a 35-0 demolition of the host Matadors despite four Glendale turnovers.
“There were some great individual efforts out there tonight, but I think as a team we can play much better,” Glendale third-year Coach John Tuttle said.
Glendale (1-0) got on the board first when Nitros quarterback Julian Rovira connected with Loudermill for a 73-yard passing touchdown with 5:54 left in the first quarter. The junior caught the ball along the left sideline and sprinted down the rest of the way to score his team’s first points of the 2014 campaign and the only points the Nitros would need to send San Gabriel to 0-2.
“We’re just happy about this team victory,” Loudermill said. “I know we made some mistakes. I know we’ve got to improve and get better and that’s exactly what we’re going to do for next week.”
On the next Matadors drive, Glendale’s Abraham Martinez recovered a San Gabriel fumble. Four plays later, the Nitros turned the opportunity into points when Jung took a pitch to the left side and ran the ball in for a nine-yard score. Jung, who along with Ruiz and Loudermill did not see the field on offense in the second half, finished with nine carries for 50 yards and the one score.
The final blow of Glendale’s 21-0 first quarter came from Ruiz, who earlier in the possession ripped off a 37-yard run and soon after finished the drive with an 18-yard touchdown run in which he broke multiple tackles.
“I just try to keeping my feet moving,” Ruiz said. “When I feel a hit I just keep moving my feet.”
Ruiz struck again just before the half for the only score of the second quarter. The senior capped a 50-yard drive that included a 29-yard run where he dragged multiple Matadors along the way with him, with a three-yard rushing touchdown with 57 seconds to go. That would prove to be Ruiz’ final carry of the contest, giving him 123 yards on 10 carries with the two scores.
Loudermill assured the Nitros of the 28-0 lead at the break by intercepting San Gabriel quarterback Anthony Gutierrez in the final seconds of the half. The Nitros junior then effectively ended the game early in the third quarter when he fielded a Matadors punt and took it back across the field for an 81-yard touchdown return with 8:10 left in the quarter.
“At halftime, coach said we were going to get this return,” Loudermill said. “It was a good kick, but I never called for the fair catch, so I thought it was the opportunity to try to take it to the house.”
After that, with a 35-0 advantage, the officials ran the clock the rest of the way and the Nitros gave Ruiz, Jung and Loudermill the rest of the night off.
“Those three players had great individual effort plays at times in the game,” Tuttle said.
Loudermill led all receivers with four catches for 81 yards with the two touchdowns and the one pick. The game ended on another Nitros interception, this one from senior Antar Lombera.
“We have to get better in all three phases,” Tuttle said. “But we’ll take the win. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Next up for Glendale, which opens the season with three road dates, will be a matchup at La Cañada.
“We know La Cañada is a tougher team and we know if we don’t show up and fix our mistakes it could end up bad for us,” Ruiz said.