Ramon Ruiz discusses La Quinta’s win over Citrus Valley
The Blackhawks are now 2-0.
Just before the start of the second half at La Quinta High School on Friday, players from the Citrus Valley High Blackhawks ran through a banner that read, “There’s only room for 1 Blackhawk in town.”
Turns out there was only room for the La Quinta Blackhawks.
La Quinta erased a 14-point deficit to the Redlands school and scored 22 unanswered points en route to a 36-20 win in its home opener.
It was both a definitive win and one that surprised at least some. After La Quinta quarterback Roman Ansley raced 56 yards down the field to give La Quinta a 29-14 lead in the third quarter, the Citrus Valley sideline stood in stunned silence.
On the other side of the field, the home crowd, with the bleachers packed, raged in celebration.
La Quinta (2-0) had turned a game that once looked like it was getting away into a big win that should boost confidence in an already confident team heading into Week 4 of the high school football season.
“That’s what I’m proud of — the fact that they were resilient,” La Quinta head coach Ramon Ruiz said. “When things were down, we kept fighting and kept sticking to our plan and guys stepped up and made plays. When guys make plays, you’ve got a chance to win a football game and that’s what happened tonight.”
The player who made the most plays was senior quarterback Roman Ansley. He was 10-of-16 passing for 143 yards and a touchdown, which was caught by senior Tristan Wildt. Ansley threw an interception in the first half, on La Quinta’s second drive of the game, and said that the humid conditions affected his ability to grip the ball as well as usual.
The conditions, which included 55-60% humidity and nearly triple digit temperatures at kickoff, also seemed to wear down Citrus Valley (0-2). The Blackhawks from Redlands were visibly fatigued after long La Quinta drives, and Ansley took advantage by tucking the ball and running often, racking up 178 yards and a touchdown rushing. It was a signature performance.
“Roman did a great job,” Ruiz said. “He’s got a lot of room for improvement, but we’re happy with what he did tonight. I mean, you saw it. He took over the game.”
La Quinta running back Simon Simonian ran for 158 yards and a touchdown, and Colton LaCrone ran for another score.
Juniors Matthew Rivas and Caleb Hartwell each intercepted passes for La Quinta, and senior Tyson Bradley put an exclamation point on the win with a fumble recovery that he returned 66 yards for a touchdown in the final two minutes.
It was an all-around solid performance for the La Quinta offense and defense, which should put the Blackhawks in conversations as a contender in the Desert Empire League.
“I really like our team this year,” Ansley said. “I think we have a chance to be very good.”
Three takeaways
∎ Ansley is playing so well. In a valley with some solid quarterbacks this season, Ansley staked his claim on Friday as maybe the best of the group. He was that impressive, with a stronger body this year and so much patience and poise in the pocket and on the outside running the ball.
It’s still early, but two games into the season Ansley has thrown for nearly 400 yards and five touchdowns and run for over 200 yards and another score.
∎ Can’t sleep on the La Quinta defense. I may be guilty of this, but in all honestly my concerns with La Quinta early this season had to do with a new offensive line and an unknown at the running back position. Well, the offensive line and running back position look solid after two games, and the defense might be right there as one of the best in the DEL.
What I think makes this defense very good is that they have some athletic playmakers in the defensive secondary and linebacker spots and they’re aggressive up front. That’s really what every team wants.
∎ Simonian is carrying the load. The final takeaway is La Quinta is in good hands with running back Simon Simonian. You may recall that he’s replacing all-league running back James Madden Ruberg, who is rehabbing from a partially torn ACL that he suffered in the late spring. Ruberg may still return later this season, but until then it is on Simonian to carry the load and he’s doing that admirably. He’s topped 150 yards in each of the first two games this season.
Andrew John covers sports for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.