Citrus Valley roars back to edge REV

BEAUMONT, CALIF. – Citrus Valley High’s Talia Knox intercepted a Redlands East Valley pass and returned it 15 yards. She made the play Tuesday, Aug. 20 en route to the Blackhawks’ comeback 20-19 flag football victory.

The Blackhawks yelled and danced and fell all over each other like kittens on the sideline in celebration of Knox’s play. Less than two minutes later, Citrus Valley was 2-0 in Citrus Belt League play.

“It felt good,” Knox said. “It was unexpected. When it was in the air I was thinking, ‘Am I going to catch it or drop it?’ But then I caught it.”

REV (1-1) got the ball back and had one last chance to win. Nifty quarterback Charlotte Cox completed a pass to Milee Najera, but Najera’s flag was pulled by Citrus Valley’s Ariana Kaufman. That ended the wild game and touched off another Blackhawk celebration.

It was a tough loss for REV which led 19-6 with 9:26 left in the game, only to see Citrus Valley steal the victory.

“We tried to lock in on defense, but we came up a little bit short,” Cox said. “I thought we did great at the beginning but started losing at the end.”

Cox’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Najera with 9:26 left put REV up by 13. Citrus Valley seemed to have little chance.

But the Blackhawks struck back in just three plays, scoring on a 23-yard pass from Amariah Ynda to Mia Moreno with 7:02 left.

Citrus Valley’s defense held, and the Blackhawks got the ball back late in the game. Citrus Valley scored in six plays, punctuated by a 29-yard TD pass from Ynda to Knox.

“It just kind of happened,” Knox said. “I ran a go route and got by my defender and caught the ball. It felt pretty good. My teammates were really happy.”

Knox said she was not worried when the Blackhawks fell 13 points behind.

“I have faith in my team,” she said.

The Citrus Valley win obscured a tremendous performance by Cox who sprinted and threw tight spirals all game and probably deserved a better fate. Asked where she got her athleticism, Cox laughed and said, ‘I picked it up myself.”

Citrus Valley (2-0) will try to keep its perfect record intact when it plays Redlands at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 27 at Cajon High in San Bernardino.