Football Recap: Vitela Isaac Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Perris

It was a proper cat-fight when Redlands East Valley took on Perris on Friday. The Wildcats walked away with a 32-25 victory over the Panthers. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Wildcats.

Redlands East Valley's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Vitela Isaac led the charge by rushing for 188 yards and a pair of scores on only 14 carries, while also throwing for 76 yards and one TD. Isaac's longest rush was for an impressive 52 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Hunter Goettel was in the mix too, providing Redlands East Valley with two touchdowns.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Redlands East Valley was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 293 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Perris only rushed for 196 rushing yards.

Redlands East Valley's defense stepped up as well, laying out Xavier Cruz. 7.5 times. The heavy lifting was done by Evan Espinoza and Marcus Manriquez, who racked up 6.5 sacks between them. Redlands East Valley got some further help from Micah Ley: he picked up a sack, forced one fumble, and made nine total tackles.

Despite the defeat, Perris saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Cruz threw for 201 yards and three TDs on only 18 passes, and also rushed for 71 yards. Eriberto Ochoa was another key player, gaining 78 total yards and a touchdown.

Redlands East Valley's record now sits at 2-0. As for Perris, their loss dropped their record down to 1-1.

Redlands East Valley has already played their next matchup, a 20-14 defeat against Poly on the 6th. As for Perris, they also wasted no time getting back out on the field and have already played their next contest, a 55-21 loss against Rim of the World on the 5th.