Santiago strikes first in Inland Division semifinal

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This is what football is all about. Pouring rain, no cheerleaders or band, just hard-core fans. Ideal weather for reporting? Not really.

Santiago scored first on a nine-yard touchdown run by Anthony Dye with 10:36 remaining in the second quarter. The two-point run was also good, so it’s 8-0 and the greatest upset in Southern Section history is brewing.

The rain continues and Redlands East Valley and Santiago had trouble adjusting on their first couple of series. Santiago has fumbled two snaps already but was able to recover both. The Sharks also had a 10-yard punt, but REV failed to capitalize, hitting the crossbar on a 55-yard field goal attempt. The Wildcats also began their second drive in Santiago territory, but had to punt.

On their third drive, the Sharks finally got a nice run from Dye to get into the REV red zone. On the first play of the second quarter, the Sharks had fourth and three at the Wildcat 17-yard line and got the first down on a fullback dive. Dye scored two plays later.

The referees are a little bit older tonight. I hope they’ve had their flu shots.

-- Dan Arritt