Aztecs football misfires in loss

BARSTOW • The Aztec offense proved to be its own worst enemy Friday night.

The Barstow High School football team lost 24-7 to Apple Valley in a game that saw the Aztecs suffer from multiple mental lapses on the offensive side of the ball. Barstow gave up 110 yards on penalties and 95 of the yards came on offside, delay of game, personal foul and 12 men on the field calls on the offense. The penalties pushed the offense into deep-yardage situations, and forced the Aztecs to take risks which led to good field position for Apple Valley.

The Sun Devils didn’t have a scoring drive that was longer than 40 yards in the game. Apple Valley running back Jermaine Lowe ran for two touchdowns on drives that started on the 25 and 11-yard lines.

“We really just had a lot of mental mistakes that we can’t have,” Barstow coach Jose Rubio said. “It was the first game, and we’re a young team so that contributed. We need to get that under control this week.”

“Penalties killed us,” Offensive coordinator Jay Thompson added.

The Aztecs also allowed the Sun Devils’ defense to penetrate and get sacks on quarterback Steven Deverell. Apple Valley sacked Deverell on three consecutive plays during two different drives in the first quarter. He threw for 68 yards, but threw an interception and an off target backwards pass that turned into a fumble.

Barstow’s offense may have struggled, but it did have a bright spot — Ricky Burns. Burns rushed for 84 yards, caught three passes for 47 yards and scored Barstow’s only touchdown in the game. He accounted for nearly two thirds of the Aztecs’ yards.

Entering the game Barstow’s offensive line appeared to have an edge on the Sun Devils. The Aztecs had a larger line than Apple Valley, but the Sun Devils were able to get into the backfield with their speed.

“They’re physical,” Apple Valley coach Frank Pulice said. “They’re smaller, but tough and fast. They stick together and work well as a unit.”

The Sun Devils’ linemen also showed up on the offensive side of the ball. They were able to hit Barstow’s linemen first and create holes for their running backs. Lowe ran for 126 yards of the Sun Devils’ 259 yards rushing in the game. Tyler Murphy had 43 yards on the ground for Apple Valley, while quarterback Ben Quiroz had 31 yards rushing and 85 yards passing.  Quiroz had one touchdown pass to Keneth Carcamo in the fourth quarter. Apple Valley finished the day with 344 total yards to Barstow’s 211.


Apple Valley    0    10    0    14    —    24
Barstow        0    0    7    0    —    7

Second Quarter
AV — Lowe 3 run (Franklin kick)
AV — Franklin 28 FG
Third Quarter
B — Burns 3 run (Lara kick)
Fourth Quarter
AV — Carcamo 12 pass from Quiroz (Franklin kick)
AV — Lowe 4 run (Franklin kick)