By Nazaret Jarekian
The Mirror Staff
“Football has been everything for me. At a time, it was the only thing I looked forward to doing when I came to school.” – Senior Lineman Jonathan De Leon
SPORTS
Sheiks Shut Down the Wolves in Playoff Game
FOOTBALL: Van Nuys fails to score as they are eliminated from the playoffs, bringing the season to an end, winning only three of eight contests.
The football season has finally come to an end for the Van Nuys Wolves, as they fall to the Hollywood Sheiks, 24-0, in the California Interscholastic Federation Los Angeles City Section (CIF FLACS) playoffs.
Coming from a shutout 20-0 loss to Reseda High, the Wolves headed into Thursday night, Nov. 10 with a two game losing streak and little momentum as they charged the field for their first and final playoff game of the season.
Van Nuys kicked the ball off to start the game and gave possession to the Sheiks. The Sheiks moved the ball to their own 35-yard line to start the first drive of the night.
The Wolves defense would hold it down and force Hollywood to punt the ball, putting the Van Nuys offense on the the field for the first time of the night.
The offense wouldn’t stay on the field for long, as they would be forced to punt the ball up with seven minutes left in the first quarter.
Hollywood High puts themselves into the red zone from a long pass that moved the ball to the Wolves’s eight-yard line.
The Wolves defense bent, but did not break, as they prevented a touchdown on the drive. However, Hollywood scored off a field goal putting themselves ahead 3-0 with five minutes left in the first quarter.
The Wolves offense continued to struggle to move the chains, forcing the ball to be punted back to Hollywood High.
The Sheiks offense would break out for a big run, gaining 21 yards and advancing the ball to the 27 yard line. They eventually bullied their way to the 20 yard line, putting them in the red zone for the second time in the first quarter.
The “bent but not broken” defense would show up again, with Van Nuys sacking the Sheiks, moving the ball back to the 25-yard line and ending the first quarter with the Sheiks up by three.
At the start of the second quarter, the Wolves defense continued to play well, forcing Hollywood to turnover the ball after not being able to score a touchdown.
Van Nuys’s offense, however, continued to struggle, being forced into another punt, handing the ball back to Hollywood High.
With good field positioning and possession of the ball, Hollywood High would break out for a huge 37-yard run to score the first touchdown of the night for either team. With the extra point conversion, the Sheiks would have a 10-0 lead with nine minutes left in the half.
The Wolves got sacked and fumbled the ball, turning the ball over to Hollywood.
With another drive, the Sheiks ran for a touchdown, extending their lead to 17-0.
With neither team scoring for the remainder of the half, the Wolves entered the third quarter kicking the ball.
After some good defensive work, Van Nuys’s offense headed back on the field only to get demolished, giving up two big sacks and punting the ball back to Hollywood High.
The Wolves defense allowed Hollywood High to score their third touchdown of the night, after the Sheiks completed a 51-yard pass, increasing their lead to 24-0.
The rest of the game was a continuous loop of not being able to advance the ball for either team.
The Wolves lost 24-0 and wre thus eliminated from the CIF FLACS playoffs, ending their 2016 season.
With the end of the season, many seniors have played their very final game of high school football.
“Football has been everything for me. At a time, it was the only thing I looked forward to doing when I came to school,” said Senior Lineman Jonathan De Leon.
The Wolves finish their 2016 year with a 3-8 record.
