Cleveland football edges El Camino Real in West Valley League showdown

RESEDA — There would be a show Friday night. That much was indisputable. That much was expected as Cleveland High and El Camino Real battled for second place in the West Valley league.

It was just a matter of who would steal that spotlight.

The choices:

There was Royals quarterback Arturo Acevedo, who made his return to Cleveland after transferring to El Camino Real during the summer and earned the starting job. There was Ms. Rita Hill, Cleveland’s cheerleading teacher for the last 50-some years, who was celebrated to the tune of constant dance numbers that caught more attention than the game itself. There were the referees, who called 17 penalties, mis-spotted the ball multiple times and messed up down-and-distance details that negatively impacted both teams.

The answer didn’t come until there were 19 seconds left, when sophomore Ruben Lopez intercepted Acevedo’s pass in the end zone to seal a 21-20 victory for the Cavaliers (5-4 overall, 3-1 West Valley). Their defense held the Royals (3-6, 2-2) scoreless after the 6-minute mark of the second quarter and senior Edmund Janoyan’s block of an extra-point attempt proved the difference.

“Our defense has been lights out all year,” Cleveland head coach Mario Gomez said, “and nothing was different tonight.”

Cobe Green intercepted Acevedo’s first pass attempt, but after that blip the junior transfer, who was buried in a Cleveland quarterback room that ran four-deep, showed why he made the decision to seek a school that would let him sling it.

He led El Camino on three consecutive touchdown drives.

Adryon Walker, who rushed for 71 yards, capped the first touchdown drive with a 19-yard scamper. Acevedo and receiver Jayden Williams connected for the other two scores. Williams had three catches for 79 yards and those two touchdowns, but left the game after sustaining a hand injury in the third quarter.

Acevedo completed 14 of 20 pass attempts for 184 yards and took a lick of his own in the second quarter. He darted left on a designed quarterback run, the Cavaliers’ Domenik Fuentes meeting him with a blow to the chest that sent him back.

“Our old teammate, there,” Fuentes said. “So, you know, I had to add a little more to it.”

Fuentes – who doubles as Cleveland’s quarterback and ran for 43 yards and a touchdown on Friday – beat out Acevedo for the starting job as the Cavaliers opted for a run-heavy attack this season. The storyline motivated his force. He didn’t, however, intend to hurt Acevedo, who remained on the ground for five minutes and briefly left the game.

Backup David Molina continued the drive, as the Royals inside the 5-yard line with the help of three Cleveland personal fouls. Molina sustained an injury of his own, though, and Acevedo, who merely had the wind knocked out of him, returned to find Williams on a back-shoulder fade that put El Camino Real ahead 20-7.

With Acevedo’s revenge-game-narrative intact, Fuentes’ hit seemed nothing but a slight deterrence that only fueled his fire.

“This was probably the most physical game that we’ve played,” El Camino coach Jason Sabolic said. “It was so physical that we were a little bit deflated and momentum changed.”

Moments before halftime, ECR held a 20-14 advantage and had the ball inside the Cleveland 10-yard line. Nose tackle Sauiluma Rios had just exited the game favoring his right leg, so the Royals decided to call four run plays rather than rely on Acevedo’s arm, which had got them down the field.

Cleveland held strong, stuffing Nick Genovesi on a fourth-and-goal from the 2.

“We had a chance in the middle,” Sabolic said. “They played good defense.”

Williams gashed the Cavaliers in the first half, but they adjusted to contain him even before he left with that hand injury. His departure, though, was insurmountable for a struggling ECR offense.

Cleveland allowed a conversion on just one of four fourth downs. On the play Williams got hurt, ECR fumbled. And as the Royals’ tried to steal a win in the waning moments, it was the Cavaliers’ defense that forced its third turnover, uplifting an offense that didn’t record a point in the final 17 minutes.