Van Nuys Chews Up Reseda to Secure Mid-Valley Title

How ‘bout them Wolves?

Oh, sure, it has been a while since anyone could howl approval at this Van Nuys High football team, but Friday night, after a dramatic 23-21 win over perennial Mid-Valley League power Reseda, these Wolves were league champs themselves, for the first time since 1979.

And when the final gun sounded, one would have thought that the school couldn’t wait one more year. Players wept and grown men embraced.

“I’m numb right now,” Van Nuys Coach Kenji Mochizuki said.

Part of that numbness must have come from the shower of ice water that his players gave him at the end. An equal part of that numbness, however, must have been total disbelief.

To be certain, the school did everything in its power to set an impressive table for the theatrics. The game marked homecoming in Van Nuys’ 75th year, and a lengthy and spectacular fireworks show got the capacity crowd roaring. Grand marshal was District Attorney Ira Reiner, a 1953 alum of the school.

Fittingly, then, Reseda wound up handcuffed in the end.

The Wolves (5-4, 5-2 in league play) broke a 13-13 halftime tie with an eight-yard run by Harold Boudreaux and added a 22-yard field goal by Cuneyt Karacuha (his third) to make the score 23-13 as the fourth quarter began.

True to form, however, Reseda (5-2-2, 4-2-1) roared back with an eight-yard touchdown run from quarterback Andre Jackson and a two-point conversion to make it 23-21 with 6:07 to play.

But when Reseda mounted a final bid for the win, linebacker Paul Schultz sacked Jackson on a fourth-and-eight play from the Van Nuys 48-yard line.

The Van Nuys wishbone offense was devastating in the first half as running backs Aaron Gadasy, Diallo Frazier and Boudreaux seemingly ran eight to nine yards before even taking a hit from the baffled Reseda defense.

When it came time for scoring, however, the Wolves turned to kicker-wide receiver Karacuha, who booted field goals of 28 and 38 yards and was on the receiving end of a six-yard touchdown pass from Roy Vasich in the first quarter for all of the Wolves’ 13 points.

However, Reseda’s Edgar Fernandez recovered Boudreaux’s fumble on a punt early in the game and carried it 34 yards to the Wolf six-yard line. From there, Joey Tushnet scored for a 7-3 lead.

Late in the half, Reseda benefited from a pass-interference call on third and 22 from its eight, then drove 78 yards to tie the score, 13-13, on a six-yard pass from Jackson to Rockey Tribble.