On the weekend of Murrieta Mesa High School’s first ever homecoming, the Rams stood their ground and defeated the Blackhawks from Redlands Citrus Valley by a convincing 33-10.
“This one is special” said Alicia Salcedo, a Murrieta Mesa parent whose son plays on the team. “This is our first real homecoming for the school with seniors."
The Rams extended their winning streak to four at the expense of Citrus Valley and are undefeated this season. Mesa’s defense looked impressive as they held the Blackhawks to a mere 10 points, their best effort of the year.
Defensive lineman Ozzie Llamas came up with his first interception of the season and spearheaded a revitalized defensive unit. Defensive linemen Alex Garcia and brothers Nick and Arthur Tejada kept the Blackhawk offense off balance all evening.
Linebackers Clayton Willis, Dustin Nethercutt and D’andre Bell contained the Citrus Valley running attack while defensive backs Billy Montoya, Alec Salcedo and Davian Neitz shut down the Blackhawk passing game.
Coach Justin Schaeffer’s offense proved to be too volatile for Citrus Valley. Quarterback Chase Chambers was “held” to 232 yards passing last night.
Chambers was voted best quarterback in the league by The Press-Enterprise and was averaging 359 yards a game. He had 17 completions out of 27 attempts with four touchdowns against the Blackhawks.
Khalil Sharpe had two touchdown receptions, one for a 56-yard score after an amazing leaping catch and outrunning the Blackhawk defense into the end zone. Daniel Castro and Gilbert Toves each caught a Chambers pass for touchdowns.
Congratulations to Coach Schaeffer and his undefeated Rams.
It looks like Murrieta Mesa’s “first ever” Homecoming Dance is going to be a fun, festive, victorious event.
“It’s always fantastic when you win the Homecoming game—especially this one," Salcedo said.
