Lightning Football News...

#1 Ranked JS Rolls to 4-0 with 34-25 win! 

The Joshua Springs Lightning(4-0) faced the Division I, 5th ranked Cal Lutheran C-Hawks(2-2) Saturday night at Wildomar, CA and defeated the C-Hawks by a score of 34-25. This was the third meeting of the Lightning and the C-Hawks, the C-Hawks won both of the previous two.

This was a game of hard hitting at the line, so hard that for the first time in school history the Lightning offense passed for more yards that it rushed. Of the 316 total offensive yards, 184 yds came through the air and only 132 on the ground. The game was not really as close as the score indicates, the Lightning had 2 TD's called back as part of the over 100 yds in penalties they received on the night. Throw in the three fumbles lost, one on the C-Hawks 1 yd line that produced an easy score, and you can see a lot of time was spent overcoming Lightning mistakes.

The C-Hawks showed they were ready for the Lightning when they took the opening kick off and marched down the field to draw first blood and make the score 0-6, C-Hawks. The 2-pt conversion failed. The Lightning, who have only allowed 18 points in the first three games, shook it off and started their march. The C-Hawks stopped the Lightning and forced a punting situation. Senior Punter Tony Garrido hit a booming high kick that was fumbled and the Lightning recovered the ball on the C-Hawks 25 yd line. A few plays later and the Lightning scored, making the scored 7-6, after a Junior Blake Martz extra point conversion.

The Lightning went up 14-6 in the 2nd quarter after Senior Joe Virga took a Kick Off and returned it 55yds. A few plays later the Lightning scored. Virga had four returns for 110 total yards on the night. The C-Hawks put together a good drive just before the half to pull within two, 14-12.

After the half-time break the Lightning received the Kick-off only to fumble it on the C-Hawks 1 yd Line, the next play the C-Hawks scored and for the 2nd time in the game took the lead, now 14-18. The Lightning would dominate the rest of the 3rd quarter running off 14 straight points to end the quarter 28-18.

The final quarter was a flat out war between this two hard-hitting teams. The C-Hawks pulled within three when they scored, making the score 28-25. The C-Hawks had a chance to tie the score deep in Lightning territory but opted to go for it on 4th down and the Lightning defense held. The highlight of the fourth quarter was with 2:58 on the clock, the C-Hawks defense had held the Lightning and forced a punt. But Coach Roberts took a big breath and called a fake punt and Garrido ran for a 1st down destroying any hopes the C-Hawks had of winning the game. The Lightning ran out the clock and took their first win against C-Hawks in three tries.

Top in Offense for the Lightning were Sophomore QB Jesse Frazer who was 10 of 19 for 184 yds, 3TDs and 1 Int. Garrido rushed 16 times for 132 yds, 1 TD, and 2 catches for 13 yds. Senior Tim Krapivkin had four catches for 129 yds and a TD, Sophomore Eddie Nixon had two catches for 35 yds and a TD, Virga had one catch for 12 yds and Sophomore Boomer Arnold had a 1 yd catch for a TD.

Top defenders on the night were Nixon who had 19 tackles and 3 pass defenses, senior JC Roberts who had 12 tackles, Krapivkin had his best showing of the year with 10 tackles, 3 pass defenses, a fumble recovery and an Interception that he returned 38 yds, Arnold had 9 tackles, 2 QB knockdowns and 2 pass defenses, Garrido had 8 tackles and a pass defense, Virga had 7 tackles and 1 sack, Senior Kyle McClay had 6 tackles and a QB knockdown, Junior Aaron Newman had 6 tackles and it was good to see 2004's leading tackler Senior Ray Boetger return to the starting lineup from his pre-season injury, he had 5 tackles on the night in limited play.

Next up for the Lightning is a road trip to play the DIV I, #3 ranked, Hesperia Christian Patriots at Hesperia. The Patriots are the fourth top ranked team in a row the Lightning will face. This game will more than likely determine the Agape League championship as well. The game will be played Friday night at 7:00pm. The Lightning JV will play the JV Patriots at 4:00PM. The Lightning JV are also undefeated this year at 5-0, so the early and late games will both be a challenging. A Reuters bus will be available for fans who would like to attend the game. For more information and/or directions call the school office at 760-365-3599 or click on Hesperia Christian