PREP FOOTBALL : Southeastern Conference Final : Arroyo Uses Onside Kick to Defeat Victor Valley, 7-3

After losing in the semifinals the past two seasons, the El Monte Arroyo High School Knights finally gained redemption as they squeaked past Victor Valley, 7-3, Friday night to win the Southeastern Conference championship at Victor Valley.

With the victory, Arroyo (12-2) won its first Southern Section championship and snapped a seven-game Victor Valley win streak.

“It was a realistic goal to win it all,” Knight Coach Don MacKinnon said. “We were rated No. 1 at the beginning of the season, but now we’re No. 1 when it counts.”

The teams were evenly matched in the first half; the only scoring was Phil Martinez’s 23-yard field goal at the start of the second quarter that gave Victor Valley a 3-0 lead.

Arroyo’s only opportunity of the half ended when Enrique Gavilanes was short with a 39-yard field goal attempt.

The key play of the second half was the opening kickoff, when Arroyo’s Mike Agosta hit a perfectly-placed onside kick that rolled 10 yards to the 50-yard line with Agosta recovering it himself.

Seven plays later, Fernando Zabala scored from two yards out to cap a seven-play, 50-yard drive. Gavilanes’ kick put Arroyo ahead, 7-3, with 8:29 remaining in the third quarter.

Defense also was an important factor for the Knights. Early in the fourth quarter, Arroyo’s defense rose to the occasion when Victor Valley tried a halfback pass on fourth down with Larry Hudson throwing to wide receiver Steve Clay in the end zone, but it was batted down at the last second by Knight defensive back Anthony Alvarez.

On Victor Valley’s possession, with two minutes remaining, quarterback Jerry Dunn’s fourth-down pass was bobbled by Justin Frazier as he fell out of bounds at the Arroyo 38, giving the ball back to the Knights, who ran out the clock.

MacKinnon explained his decision to go for the onside kick at the start of the second half. “We needed something to pump us up, but for us to win, we had to go for it,” MacKinnon said.

And it was a good thing he did, because both teams struggled on offense. The Knights gained only 140 total yards, with Zabala the leading rusher with 63 yards.