Tartans Battle Back in Wild Win Over Valley Christian

A slow start again plagued the Tartans as they faced off against the Valley Christian Crusaders in Cerritos Friday night. After a Crusader dominated first quarter, the Tartans got on the board with a ten yard TD strike from senior quarterback George Krantz (22/36 178 yds 4 TD) to junior receiver Ryan Cragun (7 rec for 63 yds 2 TD). A Christopher Vartanian field goal closed out the half with the Tartans down 21-10.

 

Krantz again found Cragun in the end zone in the third quarter to cut the Crusader's lead to 21-16. However, Valley Christian answered back in the fourth, going up 27-16 on a 10-yard touchdown run. With the game clock quickly draining, a stalled drive forced the Tartans to take a gamble on a fourth and long giving the ball back to the Crusaders with about seven minutes left to play. The Tartan defense again answered the call, with sophomore defensive back Koa Todd hauling in a momentum-changing interception to give life back to St. Margaret's. A quick Krantz to senior Auston Locke ( 5 rec for 30 yds 1 TD) connection and the resulting two-point conversion put the Tartans back in business 27-24 with 4:51 left in the game.

 

On the ensuing kickoff, Vartanian popped the onside kick perfectly setting up sophomore Langston Sholl for the recovery. The Tartans orchestrated a hurried drive (helped by a series of Valley Christan penalties) in under two minutes to go up 30-27 with a George Krantz to brother Nick Krantz (4 rec for 25 yds 1 TD) TD lob with 1:30 left.

 

The Tartan's special teams sealed it for St. Margaret's, as they recovered a bobbled kickoff return.

 

Click here to read more about the game on OCVarsity.com.

 

The 3-0 Tartans will face the Bishop's School in San Diego Friday, September 16.