El Camino football wins Bell Game rivalry against South City for third straight year

The Colts (2-2) didn’t waste the chance, and wasted little time in the process, scoring early and often en route to a 49-12 victory Saturday afternoon at Clifford Field. It marks the first time in the history of the rivalry El Camino has captured the coveted Bell trophy three years in a row. Not that the recent run of success has gone to the heads of the Elco faithful.

“Were we favorites?” El Camino head coach Archie Junio said. “I didn’t even know we were favorites. I figure you look at the long history of it, is there ever a favorite if you’re losing that much in history?”

Yes, El Camino was quite heavily favored, considering South City (0-4) is in the worst rut in program history. Saturday’s loss marks the 24th consecutive loss for the Warriors. The last time the varsity football team won was in its 2018 season finale. Since then, three different coaches have run the program without a win among them.

South City’s first-year head coach Dion Evans, despite having just 15 players at his disposal, got creative with the offensive game plan to work six different ball carries into the rushing scheme. The Warriors netted just 130 yards of total offense. But the main objective, according to Evans, was to keep the team looking toward the future, and to keep all his players healthy.

“We had to come up with a game plan that no one player was a bell cow because we didn’t want anyone to get hurt,” Evans said. “This is the last game. We knew that El Camino is a better team right now. I told them that El Camino was a better team right now, but that they could fight, and they could score.”

The Warriors did score. In fact, they scored twice. This is significant, as it marks the first time South City has scored two touchdowns in a game since the 2018 season finale — a 41-15 loss to El Camino — in the first of the Colts’ three straight Bell Game victories.

By the time South City got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter, however, El Camino already had the game well in hand.

The Colts scored three times in the first quarter, and got on the board on the game’s second play from scrimmage when junior linebacker Elijah Vasquez dashed 32 yards on an interception for a pick-6. South City quarterback Damian Vazquez’s throw went over the middle, and right into the hands of Vasquez, who rambled to the end zone untouched.

“I looked back at the QB and the ball was right in front of my face,” Vasquez said. “Just caught it and just hauled ass to the end zone.”

After a quick South City three-and-out, El Camino’s offense took the field for the first time and quickly went on the march.

Senior running back Jovaughn Williams was the first to touch the ball, and immediately bounced off tackle for a 35-yard pickup. Four plays later, senior Jared Turcios blasted through the middle for a 4-yard score.

Williams — who played just one half of football as a junior in 2019 before being lost for the season to injury — went on to have a splendid day, needing just eight carries to gain 122 yards rushing with a touchdown.

“Jovaughn, he’s a phenomenal athlete,” El Camino quarterback Noel Valdez said. “We didn’t have him last year, he got injured. Having him on the field, it gives our offense a different dimension. He’s just a great athlete. He plays hard. He just puts his head down and plays.”

The Colts upped the lead to 21-0 late in the first quarter when junior Toby Woodworth exploded for a 91-yard punt return, giving El Camino a scoring trifecta — one touchdown on offense, one on defense, and one on special teams — all in the opening quarter.

“That’s definitely a nice one,” Junio said. “That definitely sets the tone for us. It’s good because when you get Toby in spaces, he’s a really good player. That punt return just worked in our favor. … And I’m happy for him. He’s put in a lot of work this year.”

South City fired back with a 10-play, 79-yard scoring drive. Vazquez was a workhorse out of the quarterback position, gaining 141 forward yards (83 rushing, 58 passing) and added a 4-yard reception in the second half. It was his 29-yard throw to senior Carlos Marquez that gave the Warriors their first score just over two minutes into the second quarter.

“They were electrified,” Evans said of his team’s reaction. “They were running down the field. We had to make sure that they stayed back.”

But El Camino added three more scores before halftime.

Williams took the reins on the ensuing possession, tabbing runs of 17, 27, 1 and 9 yards, the latter a scoring run off tackle with style points as he went into a Superman dive across the goal line.

Three plays later, South City coughed up an absurd turnover by fumbling twice on the same play. After regathering possession after the primary fumble, the rusher kept moving backward until he got stripped for a second fumble, this time with El Camino junior Joey Pierotti scooping it up and returning it 40 yards for a touchdown.

El Camino linebacker Isaiah Rose then came up with an interception with just over four minutes to go in the half. The Colts cashed in on a short field on the next play as Valdez hit Woodworth for a 40-yard scoring strike to up the lead to 41-6.

The Colts’ 41 points tied the all-time program record for points in a Bell Game. Midway through the third quarter, El Camino broke the program record when Valdez dashed Willie Beamen style for a 7-yard score.

Valdez is the only Colt to have played in each of the three-peat victories. Fitting, since he wears No. 3 on his uniform. The senior joked about there being a vetting process who gets to wear the number next after he graduates.

“We’ll see, whoever gets it, I’m going to have to do a little certification on that,” Valdez said.

Amid a running clock in the fourth quarter, South City added the game’s final score with six minutes to go. Senior fullback Carlos Garcia did the honors, pounding in a 3-yard run.

In his postgame sendoff, Evans told his players it isn’t their fault they’ve had four coaches in four years. But, he stressed he is intent on returning as head coach next season, and has plans to rebuild the program from the ground up.

“There’s a wave of players because I’m coming back,” Evans said. “I’m not going to abandon them. As a man and as a football coach, this is very tough to deal with. But I came here knowing that this was going to be tough. … Our problem right now is experience. We just don’t have enough experience for four quarters of football. But that will change.”

The day belonged to El Camino, though. As does the current era of the rivalry. Prior to 2018, South City had claimed the Bell trophy 14 straight years.

“We’ll just take them one game at a time,” Vasquez said. “Hopefully next year we’ll come out and complete the four-peat. This three-peat out here was nice. But we’re definitely going for four.”