Oak Hills defeats Apple Valley for MRL title, High Desert supremacy: 5 takeaways

APPLE VALLEY, Calif. – In one of the most highly-anticipated games in High Desert history, Oak Hills outlasted Apple Valley 41-27 on Friday to win a Mojave River League title.

Here are five takeaways:

1. PLAYMAKERS SHINE FOR BULLDOGS

The Bulldogs' ability to rip off the big play, respond quickly to Apple Valley scores and convert on long third downs – often at the same time – was the difference in this game. It was a strong offensive performance across the board for them, particularly in the second half, led by their passing game.

The first half was neck-and-neck. After the teams traded 3-and-outs, Apple Valley struck first, as Noah Celie scrambled for a long time before finding Dustin Reynolds for a 19-yard touchdown. A good PAT gave the Sun Devils a 7-0 lead with 3:15 left in the first quarter.

Apple Valley would lead for all of 13 seconds in this one, however. Oak Hills struck back on its next play from scrimmage, when Shea Gabriel caught a screen pass from Diego Lopez (11 of 22, 284 yards, four TDs) and took it 69 yards to the house. 

On the Sun Devils' next drive, Jeffery Johnson III made a diving catch to pick off Celie, and Apple Valley's aerial attack never got back in a rhythm.

Oak Hills took its first lead with 7:50 left in the second quarter when Karson Cox ran for a touchdown from 22 yards out. Apple Valley blocked the PAT, but the Bulldogs had a 13-7 lead.

The Sun Devils struck back in the waning minutes of the first half to keep the momentum fairly even going into halftime. Kyler Peters kicked a field goal from 38 yards out, and it was a three-point game to start the second half.

That's when Oak Hills' passing game got into a rhythm. Shane Young caught his first of three touchdowns of the night — a 52-yarder — with 7:40 left in the third quarter to give the Bulldogs a 20-10 lead. 

On its next drive, Apple Valley responded with another Kyler Peters field goal from about 40 yards out to trim the deficit to 20-13. But Young and co. were just getting started. Young made 21-yard touchdown catch to put Oak Hills up 27-13 on the first play of the fourth quarter, and he wasn't done.

Apple Valley wasn't done yet either. It seemed like Oak Hills might've been on the verge of pulling away, but the Sun Devils fought back with Reynolds' second touchdown of the night, coming in rushing fashion. It was again a seven-point game.

Next, Lopez found Young for a 65-yard TD to put the Bulldogs up two scores again, and Reynolds responded with a touchdown, again. At that point, it was a 34-27 game with 2:25 left.

On that drive, Apple Valley seemed to go all in on wearing out Oak Hills' defense with a run-heavy drive, moving to a compact, block-centric formation. They burned a lot of clock in doing so, but they were back in the game, and Oak Hills' defense looked fairly gassed towards the end of the drive.

2. IT WAS OVER WHEN... 

At that point, the game was still fully within striking distance for the Sun Devils. They just needed a quick stop and a score.

They didn't get it. On the Bulldogs' first play from scrimmage, Cox ripped off a touchdown run from over 60 yards out. After a PAT, they led 41-27 with 2:11 left in the game.

Apple Valley would've then needed a quick touchdown, a successful onside kick, and another touchdown at that point. With how well Oak Hills had contained the Sun Devils' passing game, the game felt over.

But Oak Hills still managed to officially put the game away and punctuate the win. Christian Macias picked off a desperation throw from Celie, and it was an exclamation point on the victory.

3. OAK HILLS SET TO GO UNDEFEATED, FAVORITE TO REPEAT

This win moved the Bulldogs to 9-0 in 2022, and their last game of the regular season is against Sultana. Sultana, which knocked off Serrano 27-26 on Friday, is a very good team, but Oak Hills will very likely win with a similar effort to its previous games.

Also, for all of Oak Hills' success right now, the future might be even brighter. A number of Oak Hills seniors had big imprints on this game, including Young. But the Bulldogs currently feature a lot of underclassmen playing like experienced seniors.

Oak Hills will return so much talent in 2023, including Lopez and Cox, that Apple Valley will have to go on another big playoff run to not enter next season as something of an underdog to Oak Hills. It's a good time to be a Bulldogs fan.

4. LOVE, HISTORY MOTIVATE BULLDOGS

Lopez said the significance of the win was monumental, the team's hope at history is alive and the bond between them, unbreakable.

"It's huge," said Lopez. "We're hoping to make school history and go 10-0 next game. [10-0 would be] the first time in school history, so we're pumped."

Lopez wasn't shy or apologetic when revealing the team's key.

"We just love each other," he said. "We play for each other. When we're down, we're picking everyone up... it's all love, honestly."

MORE: INTERVIEW WITH DIEGO LOPEZ

5. THE BRIGHT SIDE FOR APPLE VALLEY

Apple Valley did quite a few things well in this game. Its offense ran the ball effectively against a good defense despite having an off-night in the air. The Sun Devils' defense forced its foe to need to convert difficult third downs in many crucial junctures of the game. And they showed toughness and poise to stay in the game until the end when Oak Hills started rolling.

Still, there's no significant moral victory for the Sun Devils here. This is a tough loss. But it's not the end of the world for them for a few reasons.

Last year they stepped up their level of play when the postseason started, and overcame a litany of injuries to make an underdog run to the CIFSS Division 3 finals. The Sun Devils were the last seed in D3 in a 16-team field, and neither that nor the injuries stopped them from coming close to a title.

They entered this game as the projected 12th seed in Division 2, and the loss may bump them down to Division 3, in which case they'd be a major favorite. And if it doesn't move them down more than a few spots, then they'll be in familiar territory – an underdog that might be ready to play its best football in the postseason.

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