Start of the season ends with loss

Ryan Chae, Sports Editor

Friday marked the beginning of the Diamond Bar High School football team’s league season, but the night ended with a tough loss to the Glendora Tartans, 42-8.

Throughout the night, DB struggled to control Glendora’s rushing game, allowing four rushing touchdowns by game’s end.

On the opening drive of the game, Glendora attacked fast, scoring a 4-yard rushing touchdown with 9:50 left in the first quarter.

The Brahmas’ first drive of the game was a quick 3-and-out after a penalty pushed them further back to 2nd and 11.

After getting the ball on their 42, Glendora pushed up the field and scored on a 6-yard touchdown, giving the Tartans a 14-0 lead.

DB’s next drive started on its 20 after a touchback. Again, the Brahmas could not gain a first down and were forced to punt.

With less than a minute left in the quarter, DB was unable to stop the Tartans from scoring as the Tartans ran for 45-yard touchdown, extending their  lead to 21-0.

In the second quarter, the Brahmas finally earned a  first down  after a penalty on the Tartans pushed DB to its own 40. The Brahmas kept the drive alive with a 20-yard run by junior Kyle Rojas.

But on the next set of downs, the team turned over the ball after failing to convert a 4th and 5. With the ball back in their possession, Glendora scored again as quarterback Bryce Wooldridge raced downfield for  his second touchdown of the game,  a 42-yard run with nine minutes left in the second quarter.

The next drive for DB was unsuccessful as well with quarterback Grant Mestas’ pass intercepted on the Brahmas’ 35.

This time, however, DB forced Glendora to punt with the help of a quarterback sack that pushed the Tartans 15 yards behind the former line of scrimmage.

The Brahmas’ next drive resulted in  their first and only score  of the game. The passing game between Mestas and junior Jovan Thompson helped move the Brahmas to Glendora’s red zone where senior Davion Bluitt ran for a 5-yard touchdown. The team  converted a 2-point conversion after a pair of neutral zone infractions by Glendora helped move the ball to the 1-yard line.

With less than two minutes in the half, Glendora ran out the clock, going into the second half with a 28-8 lead.

At the start of the second half, DB received the ball but were forced to punt it after another 3-and-out.

On their first drive of the second half, the Tartans quickly scored with  a 56-yard touchdown pass by Wooldridge.

DB started their second drive of the half with a 10-yard catch by Thompson. However, a sack on 2nd and 8 pushed the Brahmas back to 3rd and 20. On 4th and 16, the team punted again.

On this drive, Glendora scored the final points of the game with 15-yard run with 4:41 in the third quarter, putting them up 42-8.

DB pushed to the Tartans’ red zone with after runs by Rojas, catches by Bluitt and junior Shane Wells, and facemask penalty. However, the Brahmas were unable to score, turning the ball over on downs on the Tartans’ 5-yard line at the start of the fourth quarter.

For the majority of the quarter, Glendora ran out the clock until turning the ball over on down on DB’s 20. With the final possession of the game with less than two minutes in the game, the Brahmas ran out the clock, ending the game with a score of 42-8.

Next Friday, DB looks to get back on track with a home game against Ayala. As of now, the Brahmas hold an overall record 2-4 and a league record of 0-1.