It didn’t take long for the Broncos to establish the direction and tempo of the game Friday night. It all began to unravel for MVHS almost halfway into the first quarter.
A Nighthawk miscue on a punt that traveled 8 yards was taken at the 21-yard line and run into the end zone by Vista Murrieta’s Su’a Cravens. Quarterback Nick Stevens then hit Cravens for the 19-yard touchdown and the Broncos led 14-0 as the first quarter ended.
The Nighthawks were poised to answer the Broncos' score and drove to Vista’s 4-yard line. Cravens intercepted an Andrew Blake pass and took the ball 99 yards for a touchdown and a commanding 21-0 lead.
Stevens then hit Collin Baker for a 45-yard touchdown pass.
The Nighthawks scored on a 4-yard run by Jayvee Raged with two minutes left in the second quarter.
The Broncos' Aaron Ruth nailed a 30-yard field goal and it was Vista 31, Nighthawks 7 at the half.
The Broncos outscored the Nighthawks 14-10 in the second half. Kishawn Holmes had two touchdown runs, one for 18 and another for 16 yards. Holmes ended up with 147 yards on 18 carries.
Murrieta Valley’s Andrew Blake hit Terin Solomon for a 70-yard touchdown and Alex Montion kicked a 35-yard field goal to round out the Nighthawks night.
Blake completed 19 of 35 passes for 223 yards.
Final score Vista Murrieta 45; Murrieta Valley 17.
Defensively for the Nighthawks, Lafayette Waters shined as he intercepted two Stevens passes and slowed down the Broncos' air attack.
The win extends Vista Murrieta’s winning streak to 22 games. They are 8-0 overall and 3-0 in league play this season. They remain the only undefeated team in the six-team league.
The Nighthawks are now 7-1 overall and 2-1 in league. Murrieta Valley is trying to get back on track and will face Chaparral next week.
