The La Cañada High School varsity football team was determined to end its losing streak, and its resolve showed on the opening kickoff against visiting New Design Watts of Los Angeles last Friday.
Dezin Delgatty returned a pooch kick 57 yards for a touchdown, giving the Spartans a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish in a 37-6 nonleague victory last Friday.
Jason Sarceda finally picked up his first win as LCHS head coach and snapped a 14-game losing streak that plagued the program.
“It feels really good,” Sarceda said. “I’m proud of our guys. We’ve been working a lot more on eliminating special teams errors. Our goal this game was to have zero turnovers.”
The Spartans (1-4 overall record) turned the ball over early in the first quarter, but the defense stepped up by forcing a fumble. Liyu Sun recovered the loose ball and the offense took advantage of the opportunity on the ensuing possession. Quarterback Matt Bromley capped the short drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Justin Zoltzman.
“It feels great to throw a touchdown pass,” Bromley said. “I’d love to throw more.”
Bromley completed five of seven passes for 69 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He connected with Zoltzman for two scores and Walker Baggett for a 6-yard touchdown.
Senior Joe Travis led La Cañada’s ground game with 91 yards on 19 carries, and Cameron Carey added 74 yards on eight carries. Sophomore Jacob Hardy racked up 52 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.
“I’m happy with the win and so proud of our guys, especially the young guys,” Sarceda said. “The sophomores are stepping up.”
One of the lone mistakes made by the defense was allowing talented Knight quarterback Brian Wise to weave his way into the end zone for a 38-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
That was as good as it got for New Design Watts (0-3 overall), which managed only 114 yards of total offense.
“Our guys started to buckle down and play solid defense,” Sarceda said. “I think we’ve been playing decent defense lately. It’s just that we have been playing with a short field.”
An inspired Spartan squad will travel to Whittier to face Pioneer (4-1 overall) in a nonleague game this Friday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m.
