Refreshed Vaqueros ready for Wildcats
NORTHEAST GLENDALE — The Glendale Community College football team will find out today how much last week’s bye will help.
Glendale college Coach John Rome said he’s intrigued, as the Vaqueros continue their quest of tracking down their first win of the season.
“The purpose of the bye is two-fold,” said Rome, whose team will meet visiting West L.A. in a Pacific Conference American Division contest at 7 p.m. today at Sartoris Field. “We’ve been able to get some guys healed, plus we’ve been able to work on the fundamentals and development.
“I’ve noticed it the last week or 10 days in our practices. Our offensive line has gotten better since our last game and our running backs continue to improve.”
Glendale (0-6, 0-2 in the division) will turn to freshman Anthony Carter to handle the quarterbacking chores against West L.A. (4-3, 3-0). Starting quarterback Kevin Hunter suffered a lacerated kidney during a nonconference game against Allan Hancock College on Sept. 24 while trying to make a tackle and it wasn’t clear when Hunter might return to the lineup.
Carter will be making his first start from under center. He’s attempted five passes, four that were incomplete.
“We’ve seen him show signs of improvement at practice,” said Rome, whose team is coming off a 28-20 division loss against L.A. Pierce on Oct. 8.
The Vaqueros will face a red-hot West L.A. squad that’s won three games in a row. The Wildcats posted a 28-26 road division victory against Valley on Oct. 15 in which they overcame a 20-14 halftime deficit.
Glendale suffered a 26-24 road loss last season against West L.A. on a last-second field goal. It was arguably Glendale’s toughest loss, but the Vaqueros have an opportunity to redeem themselves today.
“We thought we had that game won,” Rome said. “Then they go down and beat us with a long pass and then the field goal.
“We know their talent is good and they like to spread the ball around. We have to be disciplined on defense and make sure we keep our assignments correct. On offense, we are going to have to maximize our strength and that’s running behind the offensive line and then be in position to complete a pass.”
The Vaqueros attempted just two passes against Pierce.
The Wildcats received 179 yards rushing in 21 carries from running back Dominic Cooper against Valley. Quarterback LeAndre Thompson completed 17 of 28 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns, including a pair to wide receiver Denzel Idris for 25 and 40 yards.
The Wildcats are fifth in Southern California in passing offense, averaging 287.1 yards per game. They are sixth in scoring offense at a clip of 35.3 points per game.
The Vaqueros rank 34th in Southern California in scoring offense, averaging 18.3 points per contest. They are tied with Compton for 34th in allowing 38.3 points per game.
