Holtville Upsets Army-Navy for 1-A Championship

Brad Joyce returned a punt 47 yards and Holtville (8-2) jumped to a 30-7 lead, then held on to upset Army-Navy Academy, 37-27, for the 1-A championship Friday night.

Army-Navy (8-1) defeated Holtville three weeks ago, 31-14, for the Desert-Coastal League title; Holtville quarterback Jason Turner completed only one of six passes in that game and was replaced.

Friday night, Turner completed 11 of 15 passes for 193 yards and had scoring passes of 15 yards to Alberto Valenzuela and 40 yards to Shawn Reschert.

Holtville’s Mario Lizarraga carried 15 times for 78 yards and a touchdown and David Moreno scored on a five-yard run.

Army-Navy outgained Holtville, 330 yards to 274. James Reed rushed 14 times for 177 yards and touchdowns of 65, 63 and four yards. Phil Meyer completed six of 14 for 136 yards, one interception and a 19-yard touchdown pass to Alejandro Gonzalez.