RIVERSIDE — When the King football team’s offense went cold in the second half the defensive unit turned up the heat.
Riverside Poly had four opportunities to tie the score or take the lead Friday night, but King turned away the Bears each time to preserve a 21-18 victory in front of a standing-room crowd at Riverside City College’s Wheelock Stadium.
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The Wolves extended their streak in the “Battle for the Propeller” crosstown rivalry series to four consecutive wins.
King (4-0) forced Poly to punt twice during those four defensive stands, and senior cornerback Dana Burke intercepted a pass with 1:53 remaining to play. But the defense’s work was not done at that point. Poly took possession again with 35 seconds left, but the Bears could not stop the clock after Victor Aguilar completed a 23-yard pass to Michael Gaines Jr. at the King 17.
“Our defense is the backbone of our program, and they keep playing great night after night,” King coach Jason McMains said. “We have had big moments these last two games, and now there is confidence we can play with our backs against the wall.”
Poly’s defense was equally strong down the stretch, holding King scoreless for the final 19-plus minutes of the game. The Bears’ chance for victory were hurt, however, by mistakes on offense, including a pair of procedure penalties on third downs.
“The defense really finished strong and give us every opportunity to win this game,” Bears coach Jarron Gilbert said. “It’s frustrating because those mistakes do add up. We’re disappointed not to win, but it’s something to learn from.”
King’s back definitely was against the wall early in the first quarter after Poly punter Maddox Long pinned the Wolves on the 1. But King pieced together a 16-play drive over the next 6 minutes and grabbed a lead after Brian Robinson scored from 6 yards out. A key moment came when King punter Lucas Akutagawa ran for a 6-yard gain on fourth-and-2 from the Wolves 15.
King doubled its lead early in the second period, when Noah Cuenca connected with Derek Conn for a 65-yard touchdown.
Poly struggled to move the ball for a majority of the first half, but the Bears gained some momentum right before halftime as Aguilar hit Matt Henry for a 40-yard touchdown with 38 seconds left. Poly (1-2) also found the end zone to open the second half — a 3-yard scoring run by Gaines — but a missed extra point and a failed 2-point conversion left King with a 14-12 lead.
Conn returned the ensuing kickoff 59 yards down to the Poly 30, and then caught his second touchdown pass of the evening, a 22-yarder from Cuenca that helped the Wolves extend their lead to 21-12 with 7:22 remaining in the third quarter.
Cuenca made his season debut Friday and completed 10 of 19 passes for 136 yards. Conn, who filled in at quarterback when Cuenca was sidelined, returned to his natural position and finished the night with three catches for 101 yards.
Poly took advantage of three King penalties (36 total yards) to close the gap. Nick Palomares scored on a 7-yard run with 5:53 remaining in third quarter to get the Bears within 21-18. But a second extra-point attempt was missed.
And Poly managed to pick up only one first down on its next two possessions and had to punt the ball back to King.
“We have a very well-rounded defense. And at the end of the day, it comes down to all 11 players on the field doing their assignments,” senior linebacker Kaleo Browne said. “We stayed disciplined to the end and played King defense.”
Aguilar completed 13 of 21 passes for 172 yards to lead Poly’s offense Friday night.
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