Top-ranked Crescenta Valley football blanks Glendale in matinee league contest

The past two seasons, the Crescenta Valley High and Glendale football teams have faced an unusual set of circumstances surrounding their games both years.

It’s led to both squads having to rearrange their schedules and mutually agree upon new days to compete against each other.

Crescenta Valley and Glendale finally got around to facing off Monday afternoon in a Pacific League contest that was originally scheduled for last Friday at Glendale High’s Moyse Field before being postponed because of poor air quality resulting from a brush fire in the San Fernando Valley.

Playing its second game in program history on campus, Crescenta Valley wasted no time regrouping from the additional layoff.

Quarterback Chase Center had two touchdowns in the first quarter to propel Crescenta Valley to a 28-0 home win against Glendale in a game that had running clock from the start of the second quarter.

When the Falcons (7-0, 4-0 in league) and Nitros (1-7, 0-4) competed in last season’s tilt, the game was suspended in the first quarter because of a severe lightning storm that pelted the area. The game resumed the following day and Crescenta Valley posted a 49-22 win at Moyse.

“It’s pretty strange,” said Crescenta Valley first-year coach Hudson Gossard, who served as an assistant last season with the Falcons. “Who knew that would happen two years in a row?

“We wanted to get back out there today and try to stay sharp. We were able to work on some things. We wanted to play smart and be sharp and not make many mistakes. I thought we were able to do that.”

Crescenta Valley, which played its first game on its campus since 2007, scored on its first two possessions to pull away from injury depleted Glendale.

The Falcons, ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division X, took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 21-yard run from Center to make it 7-0 with 9:27 left in the first quarter.

The Falcons made it 14-0 on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Center to Angel Ochoa with 3:46 to go in the opening quarter.

Crescenta Valley increased its advantage to 21-0 on a five-yard touchdown pass from reserve quarterback Brendon Pehar to Daryn Allen with 1:13 to play in the first quarter.

“It was like going back in time to my freshman year when we played 3:15 p.m. games,” said Center, a senior who completed all six of his pass attempts for 109 yards. “It was like that for most of the guys, including most of my offensive line and some other players.

“Coach Gossard let me run some audibles today and open up a variety of plays. Nothing too tricky, just pitch and catch pretty much.”

The Falcons closed out the scoring when Pehar (three for three for 56 yards) connected with Vincent Parrot on a 45-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-0 with 7:21 left in the second quarter.

Glendale, which saw four players suffer injuries in the game, finished with 89 yards of offense. The Nitros were blanked for the first time this season and have lost seven straight games.

“We’re going out there and lining guys up,” Glendale second-year coach Cary Harris said. “We’ve lost some guys to injuries and it’s been tough sledding.

“What I like is that they aren’t throwing in the towel. We’ll just continue to go out there and play hard.”

Glendale’s David Ruiz recovered a fumble for Glendale in the third quarter.

Glendale quarterback Juan Estrada completed six of 14 passes for 47 yards.

Crescenta Valley will participate in a nonleague home game against Santa Rosa Academy at 7 p.m. Friday at Moyse. Glendale will travel to face Burbank in a league contest at 7 on Friday.

Glendale had to forfeit a league game earlier this season against Muir because of low numbers stemming from multiple injuries. Harris said he will assess the injuries suffered Monday and determine if the Nitros are going to be able to take the field against Burbank.

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