Brahmas win big but miss out on CIF
The Brahmas defeated the Montclair High School Cavaliers on senior football night, finishing 3-2 in league competition and just short of a spot in CIF playoffs. Diamond Bar High School jumped out to an early lead in this must-win game, blowing Montclair out by 49 points in the first half, then cruising to a 63-30 victory.
The team stepped up their defensive game, making 79 total tackles and recovering three fumbles—one of which allowed senior Brian Lee to run for a 35-yard touchdown. Senior Jeremiah Chukwudobe closed his last league game with five touchdowns, including a 97-yard kickoff return.
The Brahmas found their flow early in the game, scoring a touchdown off the very first play and then scoring again right after a Montclair touchdown with a kick-off return by Chukwudobe, making it 14-7.
The defense put pressure on Montclair, causing their offensive line and quarterback to make many mistakes. Halfway into the first quarter, senior Robert Diones stripped the ball from Montclair’s running back, allowing Lee to snatch the ball and run through two defenders for the touchdown.
The Brahmas maintained their energy on defense, stopping Montclair’s running back from making any first downs. With five minutes left in the quarter, Montclair’s center hiked the ball over the quarterback and senior Sean Martin sped past the quarterback for the recovery.
The Brahmas inched their way into the endzone, and Chukwudobe scored a 3-yard touchdown, increasing the lead to 28-7. After a failed drive by Montclair, Chukwudobe was able to split the defense open, running right through the middle for a 61-yard touchdown, making it 35-7. Chukwudobe dominated the first quarter, giving his team the huge lead in this deciding match.
The second quarter was no different from the first, as the Brahmas continued to crush Montclair. However, Montclair started the second quarter with a rushing touchdown, bringing the game to 35-14. On the very next drive, junior quarterback Dylan Karanickolas found senior Matthew Uballe on a one-on-one 43-yard touchdown, Uballe reaching over the top of his defender to snatch the ball out of the air, extending the lead to 42-14. The Brahmas defense continued their trend of stopping Montclair’s offense, and Montclair was unable to freely move down the field.
With four minutes left in the first half, Chukwudobe shifted through the Montclair’s defense, dodging two tackle attempts for a 39-yard touchdown. After a fourth down Montclair turnover, Chukwudobe cut through the Montclair defensive line again with several players trailing him, unable to match his speed in the open field. This was Chukwudobe’s fourth rushing touchdown, racking up 160 yards just from his touchdown runs.
The 57-yard touchdown gave Diamond Bar a 42 point lead against Montclair. To end the second quarter, senior Kai Smith ran into the endzone off a handoff for a 38-yard touchdown. The Brahmas ended the first half strong with a 49 point lead against Montclair, 63-14.
During the second half, the Brahmas didn’t score, but their defense limited Montclair to two touchdowns. With five minutes left in the game, Montclair managed to score a 7-yard passing touchdown to their running back. They scored another touchdown and a 2-point conversion with under a minute left to bring the final score to 63-30, but by that point, there was too little time left for Montclair to have any chance of winning the game.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story indicated that the team had earned a spot in CIF playoffs. They did not.
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