SAN DIEGO – It may not have counted on their official record, but Imperial head coach David Shaw left El Capitan High School with more answers than questions about his football team. After a sluggish first half where they would head into the locker room down on the scoreboard, the Imperial Tigers would finish their drives impressively, primarily on the ground, and defeat the hosting El Capitan Vaqueros 21-6 during their scrimmage in Lakeside on Saturday.
Imperial, which has taken a backseat to fellow IVL powers Central and Brawley in recent seasons, found themselves in a similar position early on in this scrimmage. While they were moving the ball consistently through the Vaquero defense, they were unable to break through on the scoreboard, an issue that plagued them during the spring season.
Going into the halftime break, the Tigers found themselves in a familiar position of being down, but they would show that this group of Tigers could never be counted out. Behind the stellar line play of Wolfgang Horner, the Tigers were able to wear down the Vaquero defense in the 2nd half. They were able to get back into the game with a 12-yard quarterback keeper from junior Christopher Tiernan, capping off a 83-yard drive late in the 3rd quarter.
Seth Shaw and Jeremiah Naylor would both tack on rushing scores in the 4th quarter to put the game out of reach. Behind Naylor, who rushed for over 100 yards, the Tigers would gain a staggering 233 yards on the ground.
Imperial will have their bye week next Friday. They will begin their 2021 season traveling back to the east county where they will face the Wolfpack of West Hills High School on August 27.
