FOOTBALL: Lobos top Eagles for first GL win
Nov. 2, 2013
By ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press Assistant Sports Editor
LITTLEROCK — For the Lobos, Friday was a night fit for two Kings.
King No. 1, Jordan King, rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns; King No. 2, his brother Jason, bolted his way ahead for 121 rushing yards, leading Littlerock to a 21-14 Golden League win over Lancaster.
And so ended the tale of the Kings, as well as a 14-game losing streak in league for the Lobos (3-6, 1-5 GL), who won a Golden League game for the first time since 2011.
"I'm happy for the seniors, for the fans," Littlerock coach Adam Fabela said. "It was huge. They worked hard for it. First Golden League win in a long time."
The deciding sequence of the match came early in the fourth quarter. With the Lobos in territory of Lancaster (1-8, 0-6), Jason King found room in between the Eagles and got free for a 30-yard run that had the Lobos in the red zone. It all went for naught as a flag disallowed the play and backed Littlerock up all the way to midfield.
"We broke for a big one, but it got called back," Jordan King said.
But where there was adversity, Jordan King saw opportunity. The running back, who also plays linebacker and had 22 tackles on the night, asked to be on the field for the next play and ran a handoff all the way in for a 50-yard touchdown.
"I told coach to put me in and call my play and I just made something out of it," he said.
Added Fabela: "He's a great athlete. We got lucky. Lancaster is a good team, but thankfully he got the edge and kept running."
The touchdown gave the Lobos the final margin of victory with 11:40 to go in the game. The Eagles, who up to then had answered every time the Lobos went ahead in the scoreboard, put together a drive that found them inside Littlerock's 20-yard line, but came just a yard short of converting a fourth-and-six with 2:36 to go that would have given them a first down at the 9-yard line.
"This is going to hurt," Lancaster coach Alfredo Garcia said. "No one wants to lose, but they need to be prepared to be ready and to play hard and to still have things not go their way."
For the Eagles, quarterback Kaleam Williams connected with receiver Malachi Magee for a 40-yard touchdown pass in the first half, while running back Ricky Montgomery rushed for 63 yards, all of them in the second half. His 1-yard run with 1:35 left in the third quarter tied the game at 14-14, setting up Jordan King's heroics.
There were times in the game where it appeared as if the Kings' night was going to get cut short. Jason King averaged 11 yards per carry in the first half, but that ended after he converted on a third-and-seven in the second quarter and the runner stayed down grabbing at his leg in obvious pain.
He came back in the second half only to see his brother Jordan also go down with a leg injury.
"We got to be able to overcome adversity," said Jordan King, who also came back into the game. "No matter what, we had to come back and win it for our team.
"They're depending on us. They look to us as leaders."
With a tough finale against Palmdale at The Hangar next Friday, the Lobos knew this was their best shot at getting back the taste of victory before the season ended.
"We haven't had the greatest season," Jordan King said. "But we had to go out and prove that we're not the worst team in the league and that we have some heart and some fight in us."
For the Eagles, who last won a Golden League game last year against Littlerock, they'll have one final shot to end their league futility next Friday against Knight, a team that's 1-5 in league.
Running back Deron Ramsey rushed for 82 yards for Lancaster.
By ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press Assistant Sports Editor
LITTLEROCK — For the Lobos, Friday was a night fit for two Kings.
King No. 1, Jordan King, rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns; King No. 2, his brother Jason, bolted his way ahead for 121 rushing yards, leading Littlerock to a 21-14 Golden League win over Lancaster.
And so ended the tale of the Kings, as well as a 14-game losing streak in league for the Lobos (3-6, 1-5 GL), who won a Golden League game for the first time since 2011.
"I'm happy for the seniors, for the fans," Littlerock coach Adam Fabela said. "It was huge. They worked hard for it. First Golden League win in a long time."
The deciding sequence of the match came early in the fourth quarter. With the Lobos in territory of Lancaster (1-8, 0-6), Jason King found room in between the Eagles and got free for a 30-yard run that had the Lobos in the red zone. It all went for naught as a flag disallowed the play and backed Littlerock up all the way to midfield.
"We broke for a big one, but it got called back," Jordan King said.
But where there was adversity, Jordan King saw opportunity. The running back, who also plays linebacker and had 22 tackles on the night, asked to be on the field for the next play and ran a handoff all the way in for a 50-yard touchdown.
"I told coach to put me in and call my play and I just made something out of it," he said.
Added Fabela: "He's a great athlete. We got lucky. Lancaster is a good team, but thankfully he got the edge and kept running."
The touchdown gave the Lobos the final margin of victory with 11:40 to go in the game. The Eagles, who up to then had answered every time the Lobos went ahead in the scoreboard, put together a drive that found them inside Littlerock's 20-yard line, but came just a yard short of converting a fourth-and-six with 2:36 to go that would have given them a first down at the 9-yard line.
"This is going to hurt," Lancaster coach Alfredo Garcia said. "No one wants to lose, but they need to be prepared to be ready and to play hard and to still have things not go their way."
For the Eagles, quarterback Kaleam Williams connected with receiver Malachi Magee for a 40-yard touchdown pass in the first half, while running back Ricky Montgomery rushed for 63 yards, all of them in the second half. His 1-yard run with 1:35 left in the third quarter tied the game at 14-14, setting up Jordan King's heroics.
There were times in the game where it appeared as if the Kings' night was going to get cut short. Jason King averaged 11 yards per carry in the first half, but that ended after he converted on a third-and-seven in the second quarter and the runner stayed down grabbing at his leg in obvious pain.
He came back in the second half only to see his brother Jordan also go down with a leg injury.
"We got to be able to overcome adversity," said Jordan King, who also came back into the game. "No matter what, we had to come back and win it for our team.
"They're depending on us. They look to us as leaders."
With a tough finale against Palmdale at The Hangar next Friday, the Lobos knew this was their best shot at getting back the taste of victory before the season ended.
"We haven't had the greatest season," Jordan King said. "But we had to go out and prove that we're not the worst team in the league and that we have some heart and some fight in us."
For the Eagles, who last won a Golden League game last year against Littlerock, they'll have one final shot to end their league futility next Friday against Knight, a team that's 1-5 in league.
Running back Deron Ramsey rushed for 82 yards for Lancaster.