Riverside Poly football overcomes Patriot – Press Enterprise

JURUPA VALLEY — He who loses the turnover battle loses the game. It’s one of the oldest cliches in football and on Friday night in a CIF-Southern Section Division 11 quarterfinal game against Patriot, two turnovers almost cost Riverside Poly a chance at next week’s semifinals.

However, the Bears defense limited Patriot (7-5) to just one touchdown on those two extra possessions and scored 17 unanswered points covering the second and third quarters to prevail 24-21 at Ed Hawkins Field. Riverside Poly (6-6) will host Westminster, a 3-0 winner over Cantwell-Sacred Heart, next week at a site to be determined.

“Those turnovers almost came back to bite us but I’m proud of our guys for overcoming those mistakes and coming through in key moments to get into the next round,” Poly coach Jerron Gilbert said. “I feel like this team is finally hitting its stride and we’ll be ready for a big opportunity next week in the semis.”

After forcing a three and out on Patriot’s opening possession the Poly offense converted two fourth downs and quarterback Victor Aguilar found Joshua Dominguez-Wales for a 30-yard touchdown in traffic to lead 7-0 with 8:20 left in the first quarter. Patriot answered on the next series with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Isaiah Miramontes to Josiah Felix which tied the game with 4:24 left in the opening quarter.

Miramontes connected with Diego Ramos for a 40-yard touchdown pass over the middle which gave Patriot a 14-7 lead with 10:54 left in the half. However, Poly grabbed momentum going into intermission as Maje Allen caught Aguilar’s second touchdown pass of the night with 1:01 left to tie the game.