EL CAJONEL CAJON — Something had to give in Friday’s season opener.
Valhalla was outscored 215-57 in an 0-6 campaign in the pandemic-shortened and -hampered spring season.
Hilltop was outpointed 150-21 with three shutouts in an 0-4 season in which it moved to the tougher Metro Mesa League.
Stats were dearth from both squads and returning standouts very few and far between.
But there was hope, exuberance, feistiness and fans aplenty.
The Norsemen used two long plays to take a 14-8 nonleague win over Hilltop at Valhalla.
“It was phenomenal,” said Valhalla senior Andrew Cornthwaite, who hauled in a 45-yard touchdown from Tommy Logan to give the Norsemen the cushion they needed. “The crowd was great. The energy was incredible. Orange Nation Pride is back. Awesome.”
Both head coaches had returned to these schools from brief absences. Charles Bussey took over Valhalla in June after three years away coaching defense at La Jolla. He is in his seventh year overall at Valhalla and won at least eight games in four of his first six seasons.
Bryan Wagner, a former San Diego Chargers punter (including 1995 Super Bowl), returned to the Lancers in the spring after graduating from Hilltop in 1980 and coaching at Sweetwater for four years.
“It was great to play a game in front of fans,” Wagner said. “It was nice to have a crowd. There were times I struggled to call in plays from the sideline because of the noise.”
Both sides struggled to move the ball consistently throughout, but there were some big plays on offense and brilliant defense, characteristic of first games, but even more amplified by current practice restrictions and rust.
Hilltop took a 3-0 lead after its first series on a 39-yard field goal by Salvador Vidrios.
Valhalla made it 7-3 after a 32-yard run up the middle by Dustin Avant in the second quarter.
The Lancers got a safety on a tackle in the end zone by Tyeron Washington late in the first half to make it 7-5.
Five minutes into the third quarter, Hilltop retook the lead, 8-7, on a 31-yard Vidrios field goal.
Cornthwaite converted his big 45-yard play over the middle of the field with 4:50 to play in the third quarter, a few moments after grabbing a 30-yard from Logan.
“The safety came up, and I got behind him,” Cornthwaite said. “The corner was off about three yards. It was just a great call by Coach (Colin) Eardley. And Tommy made a great throw.”
How strange have things been lately? Eardley, Bussey’s offensive coordinator, was living in Puerto Rico when Bussey got the Valhalla job on June 19. Eardley has only been back a couple of weeks.
Lindgren is a freelance writer.
Nonleague
VALHALLA 14, HILLTOP 8
Hilltop 3 2 3 0 — 8
Valhalla 0 7 7 0 — 14
H — FG Vidrios 39
V — Avant 32 run (Aboytos kick)
H — Safety, tackle in end zone
H — FG Vidrios 31
V — Cornthwaite 45 from Logan (Aboytos kick)
