La Quinta Wins for Classmate Who Was Killed

Dedicating the remainder of its season to the memory of sophomore tight end Eric Sandoval, who was killed in a drive-by shooting last week, La Quinta beat Norwalk, 14-12, for its first victory this season Friday night at Bolsa Grande Stadium.

Trailing, 6-0, in the first half and on their 37-yard line, the Aztecs marched down the field in seven plays to take the lead on a one-yard run by running back Alex Pulido. With four minutes 20 seconds remaining in the second quarter, they struck again when quarterback Daniel Almazan hit running back Jhamal Dawkins over the middle for a 39-yard touchdown reception.

Dawkins finished with a team-high 126 yards rushing and 57 yards receiving.

Norwalk dropped to 0-3.

“It hurt our hearts,” Dawkins said, referring to Sandoval’s murder. “Everybody was down at practice this week. You could see it. This game was for him. It was for Eric.”

The game was also the first victory for first-year Aztec Coach Jeff Veeder. The Aztecs were 3-27 the past three seasons.

“It’s been a tough one this week,” he said. “The guys overcame a lot of adversity. There was a lot of emotion out there tonight.”