West Ranch Wildcats football took little time in moving on from last week’s loss, going to Reseda on Thursday and taking down the Cleveland Cavaliers, 35-6.
Five different players scored for the Wildcats (1-1), including three through the air. Sophomore Charlie Samuelson and seniors Andrew Hamilton and Gabe Cotti reeled in those touchdown catches.
Senior Justus Morris and junior Aidan Lynch added a rushing touchdown each.
West Ranch head coach Chris Varner said he thought his players did a good job of making the adjustments that the coaching staff was asking for after last week’s loss to Pacifica.
“Really proud for the kids to be able to get that because you preach the idea of staying strong and it’s just one game, and you just never know,” Varner said in a phone interview. “These kids, their mentalities are so fragile at this age, so it’s nice for them to be able to get a good win and do it collectively as a team.”
The Wildcats were able to take advantage of the Cavaliers’ (1-1) defense and go over the top to Samuelson for the first touchdown of the game. From there, Varner said, the Cavs switched things up, but the Wildcats were prepared and continued to dominate the rest of the way.
Junior quarterback Cooper Jackson impressed Varner after a rough go of it against Pacifica last week. Varner said Pacifica looked to be in midseason form in just the first week of the season, but that Jackson was able to learn from it.
“I thought he took the lumps very well and really focused in,” Varner said. “He’s getting better every week. It’s a process as we find our identity as a team. We didn’t take any sacks, which was our goal, and no interceptions, so that was positive.”
Varner credited the offensive line as a whole for getting the offense back on track.
Senior running back Luke DePerno had a quiet game by his standards, not reaching the end zone in the contest. Varner said he pulled his star back “pretty quick” after the Wildcats were up by four scores, citing the true grass field at Cleveland High School as a possible injury risk.
“He wanted to keep playing because he’s a competitor, but I just talked to him and said, ‘It’s not worth it,’” Varner said.
Junior Max Piccolino backed up a four-sack game last week with another sack on Thursday, adding at least four tackles for losses, according to Varner.
“He’s starting to turn into that player that I was anticipating he would be. His hard work is really paying off,” Varner said.
Junior TJ Dennis and senior Kyler Garrity recorded interceptions on the night.
The Wildcats have another short week as they welcome the Antelope Valley Antelopes (0-2) to the Santa Clarita Valley on Thursday. The Antelopes lost to Golden Valley at home on Thursday, 41-6.
