The West Ranch football team had a historic 2018 campaign, finishing with a program-best 8-2 record including three league wins, the most in team history.
However, after starting 8-0, the Wildcats lost their last two games of the season, positioning themselves as an at-large bid in the CIF-Southern Section Division 6 playoffs.
Now, West Ranch is focused on getting back to its winning ways in the first round of the playoffs, taking on Silverado of Victorville.
“It’s not the way we wanted to finish, but being able to move past that and keep going week by week and staying focused,” Wildcats quarterback Weston Eget said. “Getting the job done every play is our mindset going into this game.”
Eget has had a strong senior season, completing 118-of-230 passes for 2166 yards, 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He’s also carried the ball 36 times for 196 yards and a touchdown.
His primary playmakers this season have been the Camacho brothers, Ryan and Jovan. Ryan set a school-record with 1599 rushing yards this season and 24 touchdowns on 140 carries, an astounding 11.4 yards per carry average. Ryan also has 320 receiving yards and four touchdowns through the air.
Jovan has 47 catches for 1033 yards,10 touchdowns and is averaging 22 yards per catch. Defensively, the brothers have combined for nine interceptions.
Jackson Reyes has been another key player for the Wildcats. The junior has played multiple positions this season and amassed 701 all purpose yards (352 rushing, 219 receiving and 130 on kickoff returns).
Eget is going to make it a point to get his offensive weapons going early and often.
“It’s going to be crucial, we have to come out firing moving the ball and making plays,” Eget said. “Putting the ball into their hands and letting them do what they do best.”
Silverado (5-5 overall, 4-0 in Desert Sky League) started the year slowly, losing five of its first six games, including a 58-35 loss to Valencia in the third week of the season. The Hawks were able to right the ship, winning its last four games to go perfect in league play.
Senior running back Nicholas Reed-Casey leads Silverado’s attack, having rushed for 1002 yards and 19 touchdowns on 159 carries this season. Quarterback Anthony Johnson has completed 71-of-155 passes for 1194 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Perhaps the Hawks biggest weapon is their defense, as they’ve allowed only 39 points in the past four games.
As a team, Silverado has 20 sacks, 18 fumble recoveries, 11 interceptions and three blocked punts.
“They have a ton of athletes. Their defensive backs are faster than most we’ve seen and cover a lot of ground,” Eget said. “They also have some big boys on the defensive front. We have to be smart with the ball on offense.”
The game begins at 7 p.m. at Silverado High School.
