Melissa Arseniuk

Del Sol running back Jordan Molina gets into position during Friday night’s football matchup against Valley High School.

By Sean Ammerman (contact)

Sat, Aug 30, 2008 (midnight)

The big question for Del Sol’s football team going into its home football against Valley on Friday was how the loss of three All-Sunrise Region offensive linemen would affect its running game.

The new Dragons line, led by seniors Alex Klorman and Logan Nestor, proved to be just as strong as it helped pave the way for seven rushing touchdowns in a 54-26 win against the Vikings.

“I have to give big props to the line because that’s where it all started,” said junior Ernest Hall, who led the Dragons with 152 yards on 15 carries. “Everyone did their job. If it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t have scored at all.”

Del Sol totaled 432 yards on the ground from six backs.

Senior Jon Kirschbaum, who netted 76 yards receiving and 110 yards rushing as a fullback, and recovered two fumbles as linebacker, said the Dragons were looking to make an impression their first game.

“Today was payday,” Kirschbaum said. “We have been working hard all summer and this is how we wanted to start off.”

Valley had three fumbles and threw an interception in the first half, each leading to a Del Sol touchdown.

On Valley’s first possession, quarterback Gidion Tesfai fumbled a snap that was recovered by Del Sol on its own 26 yard line.

Hall, who finished with three touchdowns, scored on a 1-yard run two plays later.

Del Sol had comfortable 32-6 lead at halftime that proved to large for Valley to overcome.

“We gave them the ball too many times in their own 30 yard line and they took advantage of it,” Valley coach John Elwell said.

A bright spot for the Vikings was senior Kerwynn Williams, who came in as quarterback in the second half and led the Vikings with two touchdowns and 165 yards rushing on 12 carries.

“We just didn’t execute our game plan,” Elwell said. “I expected us to score a lot more touchdowns.”

Del Sol senior Saei HuiHui took his first snaps as the team’s varsity quarterback, but played like a veteran throughout.

On the Dragons’ second possession HuiHui took an option run down the sideline for a 57-yard touchdown.

He went on to pass for eight completions with 126 yards and a touchdown.

“Of course I was nervous before the game but after that first snap everything came together,” HuiHui said. “It felt good to get that touchdown. It was a huge momentum builder.”

Also scoring touchdowns for Del Sol was Jordan Molina, who scored on a 17-yard and 14-yard run, Kirschbaum, who caught a 21-yard touchdown pass and scored on a 17-yard run, and Jamar McCullum, who scored on a 34-yard run.