Arleta football routs Sun Valley Poly

ARLETA — In a few days it’ll be November, but judging by the weather, that feels like a fever dream. The strong sun set the stage for a warm showdown between Arleta football and Sun Valley Poly. The heat tested both teams’ conditioning – and it was clear which one could handle it.

The Mustangs defeated the Parrots 50-7 in an East Valley League game Thursday afternoon to secure the Victory Cup for the third year in a row.

Arleta finishes the regular season 7-3 overall and 6-1 in the East Valley League. The Parrots dropped to 4-6 overall and 4-3 in league.

“It’s nice to end strong going into the playoffs,” Arleta head coach Bill Coan said. “As opposed to having injuries, which we actually made through this season pretty healthy.”

The Mustangs’ Jose Rosas picked off Parrots quarterback Daniel Parra on the last play of the first half.

The first play of the second half? Rosas intercepted a pass from Parra.

Rosas also had an impact on offense by rushing for over 100 yards and two touchdowns.

Ethan Lillingston had two interceptions, returning both for pick-sixes. One he returned 52 yards and the other was for 45 yards.

Lillingston also caught an 11-yard touchdown pass in the middle of the second quarter.

“It’s a good one-two punch,” Coan said. “They’re both very athletic. Jose (Rosas) has a vision for football because he sees in the pile. And he can see things, and he keeps moving forward. A lot of backs who run side to side, but he’ll run forward because he has good vision and sees where the hole is.”

Handing the ball off to Rosas and throwing to Lillingston was Mustangs quarterback Jesse Rios, who didn’t have to do much. He executed the Arleta offense to perfection, utilizing the quick passing game and handing off when necessary.

Rios found his moment to shine by stepping up in the pocket and finding an open lane to run through, scoring from 22 yards out. The TD run gave Arleta a 36-7 lead in the second quarter.

Rios finished 5 of 5 passing for 72 yards and two touchdowns.

“We were successful throwing the ball,” Coan said. “And that’s really not what we do. We run the ball, but it’s good to be able to throw because that keeps the other team honest, and not just stack the box like they, like most teams do.”

Early on, the Parrots moved down the field by running the ball on their first drive. Parra capped the drive with a 30-yard strike to wideout Johncarlo Mirabal and tied the game, 7-7, early in the first quarter.

From there, it was all Mustangs.

Arleta will find out Saturday who it will play in the first round of the L.A. City playoffs.

“Well, hopefully we’ll be in the top five in Division 2,” Coan said.