Wildcats slow Monsoon ‘Stormcoming’

by Jason Stone
SurpriseLights.com
Oct. 19, 2007

The first intracity varsity football battle between Valley Vista and Willow Canyon came down to one play.

Too bad some of the crowd didn’t get to see the play because they were still awaiting entrance in the long lines outside the stadium.

Willow Canyon scored on the game’s first play – a 60-yard touchdown pass from Trey Clarida to Chris Robinson – to put the Wildcats ahead from start to finish in a highly anticipated game.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 27-0 lead in the first quarter, then cruised the rest of the way in a 47-0 victory at Valley Vista, the first of many between the two newer schools.

A bigger-than-normal crowd came to Valley Vista to see the two schools battle it out in Valley Vista’s “Stormcoming,” a play on Homecoming because the school does not yet have seniors, let alone a graduating class.

During halftime, the Monsoon crowned student royalty for the occasion, but unfortunately for their fans, that was about as much success the school would have on this night.

Willow Canyon, which is already in its third varsity season, has already established its program and is on line to qualify for the state playoffs for the first time this season. In that regard, the matchup almost seemed unfair from the start.

The Wildcats made sure they didn’t get caught looking past their city foes as they scored four touchdowns in the first quarter. Two of them were long bombs from Clarida to Robinson.

Clarida only attempted three passes in the game, but all three of them were touchdown tosses to Robinson, who amassed 135 yards total.

The Monsoon had trouble putting together a consistent offensive attack in the first half and ran out of time to score in the second half. Led by Andrew Buckland's 70 rushing yards, Valley Vista rolled up 89 yards of total offense.

Game Links
MaxPreps.com (stats)