Weathering delays for lightning, penalties and injuries, nothing could stop No. 5 Sloan Canyon in a 35-20 win over visiting John Muir (Pasadena, Calif.) on Friday night.
Early in the third quarter, lightning struck near the stadium at Sloan Canyon, prompting a 30-minute delay. The stoppage did little to deter the Pirates (2-0).
“We have the approach that the next play is the most important play,” Sloan Canyon (2-0) coach Nate Oishi said. “No matter how long the stoppage is, we’re focused on the next play. And the kids did a great job handling that.”
Workhorse senior running back Jermaine Wilson rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries.
“He’s been working hard Monday through Thursday,” Oishi said, “and he earned it on Friday night.”
Senior quarterback Cade Hoshino picked apart the Mustangs (0-2), finishing 19-for-29 passing with 280 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite target, senior receiver Brandon Quaglio, caught seven passes for 118 yards.
After a first quarter slowed by penalty trouble on both sides, Sloan Canyon broke through early in the second quarter. Pirates senior defensive back Arie McQuaig IV intercepted Kaiden Agbunag around the Mustangs’ 8-yard line.
McQuaig, aided by a scrum of Sloan Canyon teammates, pushed his way into the end zone, giving the Pirates a 7-0 lead. He had two interceptions, the second of which saved a Mustangs touchdown to end the third quarter.
Oishi and Sloan Canyon had only a few days to game plan for Agbunag, a sophomore who transferred to Muir from McClintock High in Tempe, Arizona, and was cleared by the California Interscholastic Foundation’s Southern Section earlier this week. Agbunag finished 18-for-32 with 207 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Oishi said they only had a scrimmage tape of Agbunag leading the Mustang offense to study, and didn’t know that Agbunag was going to play until Thursday.
“They did a great job in film this week,” Oishi said. “Our defensive coordinator watched, I think, 13 hours of huddle time this week just to be ready for anything they could show.”
The Pirates added to their lead shortly after McQuaig’s score, when Hoshino threw a dart to sophomore receiver Talon Wittlief for a 23-yard touchdown pass.
The Mustangs got on the board less than five minutes before halftime, when Deveon Blaylock Jr. returned a kick 95 yards to the end zone. Sloan Canyon answered quickly, with a drive culminating in a 2-yard Wilson touchdown run to make it 21-7.
Hoshino kept the hot hand into the third quarter, giving the Mustangs a 28-7 lead on an 18-yard pass to Kaiden Hunn.
Less than a minute later, Muir responded with a 34-yard strike from Agbunag to junior receiver Noah Bozeman. When the teams took the field after the score, officials called for a 30-minute lightning delay.
After the stoppage, the Pirates came out hot. Wilson broke a couple tackles and barrelled his way for a 30-yard touchdown, making it a 35-13 game. The Mustangs scored once more in the third quarter, on a touchdown pass from Agbunag to Bozeman.
