High Desert Football: Adelanto gets back in the win column, beats Hemet at home
After being shut out by Hesperia earlier this season, Adelanto head coach Rafael Perry wished that his team responded better to that wake-up call.
The following two games and almost right up until halftime into Friday night’s game against Hemet, it looked like things would be heading the same way for the Saints.
The team did not touch the opening kickoff allowing Hemet to recover the football, they failed both an extra point and a two-point conversion, and an overthrown snap led to a safety against Adelanto.
All in the first half.
“There were points in the game where we was falling back into that zone that we was in the last three games. But I talked to my guys, we called a timeout, settled them down, and we went back to work,” Perry said after Adelanto’s 26-12 victory at Julian Weaver Stadium.
Just before the end of the half, Adelanto got the ball back on its own 26-yard line. With just a 6-5 lead, the team needed to put some more points on the board.
Gavin Hall, a sophomore, came up big for the Saints as he caught two 20-plus yard passes in a row from quarterback Tre People. A horse collar call on Hall’s second catch put the ball on Hemet’s 17-yard line which was more than enough for Kenneth Porter to score a touchdown.
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The Saints continued to play well in the second half to break their three-game losing streak.
Forcing turnovers and taking advantage of Hemet’s mistakes is what really turned the game around for Adelanto.
After Hall’s contributions on offense, Hall intercepted Hemet quarterback Draven Lopez in the fourth quarter.
Linebacker and running back Shakir Collins recovered two fumbles on defense and ran for two touchdowns on offense. His second touchdown was a 72-yard run that was the final blow.
His second fumble recovery was on a fumbled snap just as Hemet was within the five-yard line. This was Hemet’s last time with the ball as Adelanto ran out the clock for the remaining time in the fourth quarter.
Key plays
Collins’ 72-yard touchdown was good but his first was just as impressive. From 26 yards out, Collins was handed the ball and ran straight up the middle. He was not touched until 10 yards after the line of scrimmage, where he broke two tackles and dragged another defender with him into the endzone.
Porter was responsible for two of Adelanto’s touchdowns on the night with both of them looking like a replay of the other. After being handed the ball from fourteen to seventeen yards out, Porter escaped the line of scrimmage and scored, hardly being hindered by defenders both times.
By the numbers
4 – The number of takeaways by Adelanto’s defense.
147 – The number of rushing yards combined by Collins and Porter on just nine carries.
17 – The number of penalty yards Adelanto was flagged for.
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Game balls
Collins made a major impact on both offense and defense. Two rushing touchdowns and 116 rushing yards on offense, to go along with two fumble recoveries on defense.
Hall was the go-to guy in the passing game for Adelanto, catching three passes for 83 yards. Those receptions came when the team absolutely needed them. He also had an interception at the start of the fourth quarter.
They said it
Perry on what the victory means: “I feel like this is good momentum going into our bye week and ready to start league two weeks from now.”
Collins on his standout performance: “I tried to tell them I’m more than just a linebacker. I like to show that I can play everywhere on the field, offense and defense.”
Hall on taking advantage of Hemet’s poor passing game: “We were watching film and know they run down all game and if we stop the run, they’ll start passing. So we already knew we had to cover the pass so we went to go cover it and our team locked in.”
What’s next
Adelanto is on a bye next week before the start of Desert Sky League play against Barstow at home on Sept. 28.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: High Desert Football: Adelanto snaps a three-game losing streak
