Roundup : Defense Makes Up for Esperanza’s Mistakes in Victory Over Marina

Kevin Leon kicked two field goals and Mike Aed threw a second-quarter touchdown pass to give Esperanza High School a 13-0 victory over Marina in its season opener Saturday night at Valencia High School.

The three scores proved more than sufficient as the Aztec defense held Marina to 62 yards total offense in the game. In the second half alone, the Vikings could manage only 13 yards rushing and quarterback David Schultz completed just 5 of 17 passes for 13 yards with 1 interception.

“Our defense played real well, but we had too many penalties,” said Esperanza Coach Gary Meek, whose Aztecs were penalized 11 times for 125 yards. “We’ve got to do much better in keeping our penalties down. In tight games, these penalties can kill you.”

Esperanza, after taking a punt by Marina’s Eddie Rhea on the Viking 42, used four running plays to bring the ball to the Marina 6. The drive, however, was stalled by two major penalties, and Esperanza was forced to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Leon.

One of the Aztec penalties--for clipping--nullified a six-yard touchdown run by Lance Brown four plays before Leon’s field goal. The second--for holding--wiped out a 17-yard Brown run to the Marina 1.

Brown finished the game with 145 yards in 19 carries for Esperanza.

The Aztecs increased their lead to 10-0 with a minute gone in the second quarter on a three-yard scoring pass from Aed to Greg Campbell. The play capped a 61-yard, 6-play drive which was aided by a face mask penalty that took the ball to the Marina 36.

Esperanza held Marina to 39 yards total offense.

The Aztecs, on the other hand, had 144 yards in total offense, including 97 rushing yards in 15 carries.

Leon closed out Esperanza’s scoring with two minutes left in the third quarter with his second field goal of the night--a 35-yarder. Leon’s kick capped a 13-play drive that saw the Aztecs move the ball from their 44 to the Marina 9 before Aed was sacked by Marina’s Matt Hunt at the Viking 18 on a third-down play.

“We didn’t know what (Marina) was going to do against us,” Meek said. “We were surprised at some of the things they did offensively, but our kids responded well.”