#4 Escondido 21, #7 Vista 10: Cougars Show Their Claws On Defense

By Craig at 619Sports.net

ESCONDIDO–Fans, college scouts and media came together at Wilson Stadium to watch one of the great running backs in San Diego Section history, Ricky Seale, as undefeated Escondido took on Vista in the 619 Sports Prep Game of the Week. But on a night of hard-hitting, the Cougars defense stole the show from Seale. Escondido (5-0) stifled the talented Vista (3-2) offense for 3 1/2 quarters, sacking the Panthers six times in a 21-10 win.

Cougars head coach Paul Gomes came into the game with his top two stars having missed practice all week. Seale was sick and seemed slowed in the game with what teammates called mono, while fullback Tim Zier was resting after a mild concussion suffered against Rancho Bernardo. That took both out of the starting defense, but Gomes said the unit didn’t skip a beat:

Zier will go a step further. He believes his Cougars defense is a championship unit:

Hear from Ricky Seale, Andrew Wahlquist, and more from Zier and Gomes below:

Tim Zier and Ricky Seale lined up in the Escondido backfield (619 Sports)

Both Seale and Zier played on offense, and both broke long scoring runs in the first half but were shut down from there. Seale struck first on a 39 yard cutback scamper through the heart of the Vista defense, making it 7-0 on the game’s opening drive. But he ran for only 32 yards on 17 carries from there. Zier led the team with 22 carries for 103 yards and two touchdowns, including a 59 yard second quarter burst up the middle.

Seale was more than happy to let Zier shoulder the load in the second half against a punishing Vista team that was keying on his every move:

The Panthers defense-led by senior linebacker Ofisa Kose-stifled the Escondido rushing attack in the second half. Seale, Zier and quarterback Cruz Navarro (10 carries, 61 yds rushing, 1-3, 33 yds passing) were held to a combined 27 yards on the ground after intermission. That set the stage for the Cougars defense to shine, and they held Vista to just a pair of second-half first downs before the final drive of the game.

Vista has a couple of highly talented playmakers on offense, but they rarely got an opportunity to find open field. With SDSU’s Brian Sipe in attendance on the sidelines, hopefully the Aztec coach took note of 5′6″ jitterbug Jordan Alexander (10 carries, 39 yards/3 catches, 49 yards, TD) , who displayed a series of spin moves, hesitations and cutbacks that brought back memories of Reggie Bush at his best. Alexander turned two screen passes into big plays, including a 36 yard catch-and-run for Vista’s only touchdown of the night.

Most of the time, Vista QBs Chris Liuchan and Christian Gallardi were staring at the Escondido sky after hitting the ground hard, with a host of Cougars on their back. Andrew Wahlquist, a senior linebacker, recorded two of Escondido’s six sacks on the night:

While Ricky Seale’s numbers were pedestrian on this Friday, Tim Zier knows Seale will have plenty more chances to rack up stats. Not just on Fridays, but Saturdays and Sundays as well:

–Article Courtesy 619Sports.net