'You are never going to overcome seven turnovers': Victor Valley College drops home opener

Seven turnovers proved to be too costly for the Victor Valley College football team in Saturday night’s home opener, but head coach David Slover seemed to find the positive in losing 36-6.

The Rams coughed up 27 points in the first quarter and never recovered, losing to Glendale College at Jay Reed Field.

Slover, in his first season at the helm at Victor Valley College, saw enough from his squad in the second half to be optimistic about the rest of the year.

“I thought despite being down big at half the team showed resilience by not allowing an offensive score in the second half and generating points of our own,” Slover said. “This young team will grow up fast and each game has been a great learning experience.”

Three turnovers led to touchdowns in the first quarter; Glendale College also scored after blocking a punt attempt from Major Brown.

Victor Valley College’s first drive came to a sudden end after Teshawn Cleveland fumbled on the first play. That set up the Vaqueros at Victor Valley College’s 12-yard-line, and Dylan Hassid hit Nick Moore for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

Glendale College doubled the lead after Sione Manu picked off Miguel Larios and returned the ball back 83 yards for a touchdown.

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The miscues weren’t quite over as Brown’s punt was blocked by Douglas Williams, giving the Vaqueros a 21-0 lead with five minutes left in the first quarter.

On the ensuing drive, Kayden Williams picked off Landon Webster’s pass and set up the Vaqueros at the Rams’ 20-yard line. Hassid connected Diontrea King for a seven-yard touchdown, giving Glendale College a 27-0 lead.

The Rams were held scoreless until the fourth quarter when Carlos Anaya caught a five-yard pass from Webster with nine minutes left to play.

“You are never going to overcome seven turnovers,” Slover said. “Although we practice ball security, decision making, and details in all phases of the game, we did a poor job of translating that to Saturday.”

Anaya, a Riverside Prep graduate, ended the night with three catches for 45 yards.

Webster, a Goodwill Education Center graduate, led the passing game as he completed 13 of 27 passes for 175 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Larios, a Hesperia graduate, went five of 10 for 86 yards and an interception.

Deshawn Minor, a Granite Hills graduate, led the VVC receivers with 71 yards on four catches, while Omari McCullough, an Adelanto graduate, caught a team-high six passes for 70 yards.

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The score might not indicate it, but the Rams played stellar defense, with Aaron Morrow, an Adelanto graduate, leading the way. Morrow had a team-high six tackles, including five solo and three for a loss, and also two sacks.

The Rams allowed just 55 rushing yards on 29 carries. The Vaqueros ended with 336 yards of offense, with 281 coming in the air, and also converted just three of 15 third down attempts.

“Defensively we had a few bright spots, we held our opponents to a low third down conversion rate, forced four turnovers on downs and continued to be tough to run against, only allowing 1.9 yards per rush,” Slover said.

The Rams (0-2) have another home game on Sept. 16 against Los Angeles Valley College, which is 1-1 and recently beat Compton College 38-0. The game will be played at Victor Valley High School’s Ray Moore Stadium, along with the Rams’ remaining home games. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.

Daily Press reporter Jose Quintero may be reached at 760-951-6274 or JQuintero@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @J0seQuintero.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: 'You are never going to overcome seven turnovers': Glendale tops VVC