High Desert Football: School pride on display as Victor Valley tops Montclair in season opener
From the DJ playing a fun mix of songs like “Mo Bamba,” “This Is How We Do It” and “La Chona,” the aesthetically pleasing concrete bleachers at Ray Moore Stadium were certainly rocking with school spirit Friday night.
The stands were packed with fans as the Victor Valley football team kicked off the season with a 20-14 victory over Montclair.
The fanfare showing love is something that didn’t go unnoticed.
“Seeing the stands so packed, looking at everyone cheering for us hypes us up for sure and motivates us to do better,” said running back Victor Villa, who scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.
Victor Valley has now won five season openers in a row, having last lost a Week 0 game in 2018.
“All credit goes to the administration here,” said Victor Valley head coach Robert Kistner. “They are big on getting school pride back, and all that good stuff. Now we just gotta keep on getting Ws so they got something to come and cheer for. And from where we were last year, to where we are now, I think we have made huge improvements.”
Victor Valley got things started early on in the first quarter, scoring on a pick-six from Xavier Matthews for a 7-0 lead that held into halftime.
The first half showed indications of a season opener with both offenses struggling to get much started, and numerous penalties across the board.
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But Montclair made things interesting at the start of the second half after recovering an onside kick and later scoring a touchdown, taking an 8-7 lead.
It didn’t last long.
Victor Valley countered right back, scoring on a 35-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Robert Middlebrooks to Jayshawn Clark for a 14-8 lead midway through the third quarter.
Montclair evened up the score on the first play of the fourth quarter, scoring a rushing touchdown from a few yards out.
Montclair went for two points again, but this time failed the conversion after a bad snap led to Matthews recording a tackle behind the line of scrimmage.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Montclair’s defense forced Victor Valley to punt. But a Montclair player touched the ball after it bounced around on the ground and Victor Valley recovered and took over near midfield.
The Jackrabbits drove up the field, leading to Villa, a sophomore, punching the ball in from about 10 yards out for the lead with 4:08 left to play.
“That felt really good to see because Victor is my lifelong brother,” said Middlebrooks, who is also a sophomore. “We’ve played together from our youth to now being sophomores and helping our team win tonight, this just feels good.”
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Up by six points and with about three minutes left on the clock, the Jackrabbits buckled down on defense to force a fourth-down situation. Montclair opted to go for the first down, called a pass and Victor Valley’s Tyqwon Walker cut the route and intercepted the ball, essentially sealing the deal.
“He shoulda knocked it down, it was fourth down,” Kistner said with a grin. “He should have swatted it down and given us better field position.”
Victor Valley returns home next week, to host Rialto, which lost its season opener 23-7 to Patriot.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: School pride on display as Victor Valley tops Montclair in season opener
