Rustlers Win Big in Home Opener

Costa Mesa, Calif. - Golden West scored early and never stopped in a solid 33-7 victory over Bakersfield at LeBard Stadium Saturday night.

Scoring for Golden West (2-0) began on the very first drive. Freshmen quarterback Adam Vance looked to improve on his impressive week one showing, and he did just that leading the offense down to the Bakersfield (0-2) 5-yard-line. From there sophomore wide receiver Josh Smith took the reigns as the wildcat quarterback and threw a strike to sophomore Quest Truxton to get the Rustlers on the board. Truxton finished as the top receiver with 4 catches on 88 yards and another touchdown later on.

After the initial score, the game slowed down a bit. Both teams traded turnovers and third down conversions were scarce. That all changed, for Golden West at least, once the second quarter came along.

Rustlers' head coach Nick Mitchell subbed in fellow freshman Nick Sternard at the start of the second. Sternard responded by leading the offense 82 yards downfield, ending the drive with a 7-yard passing score to Truxton. Thanks to an interception by freshman Damarraya Joyce, Sternard was given the ball with great field position. He led the offense into the red zone before giving the reigns to Smith and the wildcat offense. This time, Smith scored with his legs, running the ball in from 2 yards away.

Vance took back the quarterback position coming out of halftime and did not disappoint. After an interception by sophomore Dominic Sesay, Vance threw a 32-yard missile to sophomore Jordan Veasy. The stellar play by both Vance and Sternard is making head coach Nick Little's decision even tougher on who will be his starter. Sternard played slightly better going 10-17 on 126 yards. Vance was rather great too going 8-12 on 125 yards.

Freshman running back Josh Vizcaya provided the final blow, a 2-yard rushing score late in the third quarter. Vizcaya and sophomore Johnny Hills seem to be this seasons rushing pair as both had nice showings. Both had 11 carries, but Hills won the yardage battle with 72 to Vizcaya's 44. Smith made a nice showing as well with 31 rushing yards from under center.

Golden West will be on the road the next two weeks. Sept. 19 is a 6 p.m. game at Citrus, and Sept. 26 features a daytime 3 p.m. start at Grossmont. The next home game is Oct. 3 as your Rustlers look to take down a tough Fullerton team that has been able to hold this resurgent Golden West program at bay the last two seasons.