Santa Clarita Christian football made everything look like a breeze in Thursday night’s Heritage League opener with the Milken Wildcats.
SCCS dominated Milken, 61-0, behind a stonewall defense and efficient offense at West Ranch High School.
The Cardinals defense could do no wrong in the first half, holding the Wildcats (0-1) to negative total yardage and without a first down for the first two quarters of play.
Multiple Cardinals broke through the Wildcat line for big tackles for losses and quarterback sacks. The game was Milken’s season opener, and it showed as the team took some time to get into any sort of a groove. Positive yardage or not, the Wildcats nearly went an entire quarter without a completion.
“I think the guys just thought, ‘We’re not making this a trap game,’” said Cards coach Austin Fry. “They came out with intensity and focus, and then executed what they were supposed to and I feel like this game was really exciting as a coach, because each of our guys focused on their role, their responsibility. As far as a united defense, you could tell everybody’s working together, and that that helped us to be really successful on that side of the ball.”
On offense, SCCS (2-0, 1-0) pounded the ball forward on every play. Cards quarterback Cayden Rappleye totaled four touchdowns in the first half, including three through the passing game. SCCS’ first touchdown passing play of the season belongs to Rappleye and Caleb Shaffer, who connected for a pair of TDs on Thursday.
Rappleye also shined in the run game and added a rushing score and loads of yardage before subbing out early in the second half.
Cards running back Jonathan Boelter ran around and at times through Wildcat defenders as it typically took two to three tacklers to bring the senior down.
“It’s like, there’s something in his brain that just says, ‘The first person to hit me will either have a really hard time getting back up off the ground or will not tackle me,’” Fry said. “It’s really great to have a running back like that, where he can go downhill and power through for every yard.”
Boelter cruised to just under 100 yards before subbing out in the second quarter. Before exiting, the senior hit four consecutive runs of 10 or more yards, including a 34-yard run and an 18-yard rushing TD.
Fry, as any coach would be, was pleased with the effort and the ability to get all of his players into the game. The coach wasn’t sure if the younger Cardinals would maintain the shutout but was impressed with his depth players, who have now gotten significant time in both games this season.
“I was proud of them for the way they finished the game,” Fry said. “They weren’t afraid, they went in and they did their jobs. To have your JV or third string in, and to be able to protect a shutout, that’s just phenomenal.”
Backup quarterback Mason Rappleye entered the game in the third and finished with two passing touchdowns.
The Cardinals will remain home for one more week with a non-league matchup with the Awaken Christian Academy of Las Vegas. SCCS was originally slated to host the Valley Christian Lions, a team that blasted the Cardinals last season, but scheduling conflicts led to the team picking up an out-of-state opponent.
SCCS heads back into non-league action on Saturday, Sept. 14, with the Awaken Christian Lions at 6:30 p.m. at College of the Canyons.
“The cool thing was to watch them not just do what they do and be talented, but also do what they’re supposed to do, schematically,” Fry said. “If we’re a good team, that’s the kind of thing that makes us great.”
