The Fillmore Flashes spoiled homecoming night for the San Marcos Royals at Warkentin Stadium on Friday night, handing them a 51-15 loss.
The Flashes, now 4-2, displayed their dominance on both sides of the ball all night, while offensive miscues and spotty defense hindered the Royals, who fell to 2-4 on the season.
Head coach Isaiah Veal said after the loss, “Football is a beautiful game that teaches you more than just football. You’re going to get knocked down. We’re going to get upset, maybe get embarrassed at home. You know, how do we respond? And so it comes back down to preparation. Us as a staff [have] got to do a better job, and we’ll get the kids ready to go. Our belief is still 100% that we can do a lot of big things in this league. Our goal is to win.”
The pink-clad homecoming crowd watched as the Royals received the opening kickoff and started on offense. A good defensive stop by the Flashes led to a quick three-and-out on the Royals’ opening drive as they punted the ball away. The Flashes took over on offense, and senior quarterback Nate Perez drove the ball down the field methodically. They finished their first possession with a 21-yard touchdown on a savvy hitch route executed by Saul Fraga-Sandoval.
After another stalled Royals drive gave the Flashes advantageous field position, they went on to score again on a 52-yard outside-zone run by Micah Harm. The score became 14-0 in favor of Fillmore with 40 seconds left in the first quarter.
To make matters worse, on the Royals’ second play of their next offensive drive, a tipped pass led to a pick-six by JJ Jasso, putting the Royals into a 20-0 hole early.
The Royals desperately needed a response on offense. Senior quarterback Hayden Feleay found sophomore wide receiver Krew Gray for a big 25-yard gain to get the drive going. It didn’t take long to finish, either, with Feleay finding Gray once again on a crossing route over the middle for a huge 44-yard touchdown, giving the Royals their first points of the game and making the score 20-7.
Veal on Gray’s impact: “This was kind of like his first game he got really unleashed, and that was great to see. He works so hard every day at practice, and he’s kind of the guy that doesn’t have an off switch … he’s gonna be a big asset going forward in league for us.”
Unfortunately for the Royals, shaky defensive coverage was a theme throughout the night, as quarterback Nate Perez was able to find his receivers with ease in the second quarter.
The Flashes added to their point total with two more touchdown passes before the half ended. Both were seam routes up the middle of the field, with one going to receiver Andrew Estarada for a 65-yard touchdown and the other being a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Matthew Zavala.
The score going into halftime was 34-7.
The Flashes continued their dominance throughout the second half, leaning on their offense, which scored two more touchdowns and a field goal. The Royals were able to cap off a late fourth-quarter drive with a deep pass to Issac Murillo for their second touchdown of the game. The two-point conversion was good, bringing the final score to 51-15.
When asked how the Royals will approach the next week of preparation after starting 0-1 in league play, Coach Veal said, “I think non-negotiables are just the alignment and assignments, knowing our job and knowing our responsibilities within our job. That’s the biggest one, along with dialing down details, and just cleaning things up.”
The Royals will look for their first league win next week in an away matchup against a 3-3 Santa Paula team.
