HOLTVILLE – Senior running back Enrique Armas put the Holtville High offense on his back in the second half and led the Vikings to a 32-27 Imperial Valley League victory over Central Union at Birger Field here on Friday, Oct. 10.
For the night, Armas carried the ball 41 times for 340 yards and two touchdowns, including 25 carries in the second half. His 21-yard touchdown run with 2:16 left in the game gave the Vikings (6-1 overall, 1-0 in the IVL) their five-point lead.
“I’m so tired, but it was all about heart tonight. Our whole team played with so much heart and I’m so proud of every one of these guys,” said the 17-year-old Armas. “My linemen have been working so hard since February and these are the results.”
Central (5-2 overall, 0-2 in IVL) would not go quietly, taking the final drive down to Holtville’s 7-yard-line before being faced with a fourth-and-3 with 28 seconds left. The Spartans tried a pass out to the flat to junior running back Fidel Camarena who was tackled in the backfield by Vikings’ sophomore Andre Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, who is also the backup running back for Armas, thought he’d lost the game for Holtville midway through the fourth quarter when he fumbled with the Spartans leading 27-24, and the Vikings’ driving inside the Central 30-yard-line.
“After the fumble my teammates were there for me. They were telling me that I would have a chance to make up for it on defense,” Gonzalez said. “The feeling when I made that tackle on fourth down is unbelievable. God had the plan to give me a second chance.”
The game was a back-and-forth affair from the opening kickoff.
Central took the early lead on a 52-yard pass from senior Luis Jimenez to senior Emiliano Morales with 5:08 left in the first quarter. That combination would prove to be deadly all night, as Morales finished the game with nine catches for 255 yards and three touchdowns.
Early in the second quarter Holtville would take the 8-7 lead when senior quarterback Alonso Cuevas (4-for-10 passing for 140 yards and two touchdowns) hit senior Alan Carrillo for a 33-yard touchdown. The two connected again for the two-point conversion to give the Vikings the lead with 10:13 left before halftime.
Central rallied with a seven-play, 60-yard drive that ended with Jimenez hitting Morales for a 42-yard touchdown pass with 2:45 left until halftime, The Spartans missed the extra point but led 13-8.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, the Cuevas-to-Carrillo combination struck again, this time with a 70-yard touchdown. Senior Axel Gomez ran in the two-point conversion and it was 16-13 in favor of Holtville with 2:28 left.
That’s the way the half would end.
“I was getting one-on-one coverage in the first half and I asked the coaches to give me a chance and throw me the ball,” Carrillo said. “In the second half they had two safeties back and that helped open the running game for us.”
Central took the opening drive of the second half and marched 49 yards with senior Matthew Lizaola pounding in the ball from one-yard out. Junior Malaki Rodriguez booted the extra point and the Spartans were back on top 20-16 with 9:02 left in the third quarter.
Armas scored on a five-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter and converted the two-point conversion for a 24-20 Holtville lead, but it wasn’t long before the Spartans struck again.
Two plays into their drive, Jimenez hit Morales for a 69-yard touchdown with 4:40 left to put the Spartans back on top 27-24. Jimenez finished the game completing 15-of-23 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns.
Central travels to Ward Field in Calexico to take on the Bulldogs in an IVL showdown at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 17.
Holtville will host Brawley at Birger Field at 7 p.m., also on Friday, Oct. 17, in an IVL matchup.