Prep Football: Chaffee's two defensive touchdowns lead the way for Serrano against Victor Valley

With the start of Mojave River League action just around the corner, the Serrano football team wrapped up its nonleague slate against Victor Valley on Friday and walked away with a big 49-13 victory.

But the victory was not all smooth sailing, though.

Starting quarterback Payton Cornell exited in the second quarter with an injury, and according to Serrano head coach Casey Maholchic, he left Ray Moore Stadium to be checked out by a doctor. 

“It doesn’t look good,” Maholchic said. 

Defensive captain Blake Chaffee didn’t let the injury derail his team. Chaffee, the younger brother of Serrano standouts Parker and Tanner, led an impressive defensive performance that included four total non-offensive touchdowns. The senior linebacker was responsible for two of those. 

“Our defense is what wins us games so I was just hoping to come out and kill them on defense, score a few touchdowns, and win the game,” Chaffee said. 

Both of Chaffee’s touchdowns came in the first half. After Cornell connected with Josh Martin for a two-yard touchdown on Serrano’s first drive, Victor Valley fumbled the first snap of the ensuing drive. Chaffee, who put pressure on Victor Valley quarterback Isac Cibrian all night, was there to scoop the ball and take it to the house. 

On the ensuing drive following Cornell’s injury right before the half, Chaffee broke through the line on a punt attempt by Victor Valley. The punt was bobbled, kicked on the ground by another Serrano defender and Chaffee was able to scoop and score in stride. 

Trevor Studervant got in on the fun as well, as per Chaffee had a touchdown competition with the defensive captain in this game. Studervant intercepted the first Victor Valley pass of the second half for a touchdown.

Then, on the first play of the ensuing drive, Studervant ripped the football out of the hands of the receiver and went untouched into the end zone. 

“Different players stepped up and made some plays and I’m proud of the kids for battling through some adversity,” Maholchic said. “Our second half effort was just outstanding and I’m proud of the way the kids rebounded.”

What it means 

With a 5-0 start to the season, Serrano is now going to potentially have to play its entire league slate without its starting quarterback. Sophomore JJ Kavanaugh replaced Cornell under center and has no varsity starting experience. 

Meanwhile, Victor Valley finishes its nonleague slate with a 2-3 record in Robert Kistner’s first season as head coach. 

Key plays

After completing his first four passes, Kavanaugh threw his first varsity touchdown in the fourth quarter on a nine-yard out-route to Nik Alonso. 

Victor Valley made a change in the fourth quarter and put receiver Elliot Beasley at quarterback, resulting in the team’s longest drive of the game. Beasley kept the ball and ran it himself. The drive was capped off with a two-yard rushing touchdown by Elliot. 

By the numbers

49 — The total number of points the Serrano defense allowed in its five games before league play. 

-149 — Victor Valley’s point differential in its four games against MRL opponents this season.

63 — The number of rushing yards that Victor Valley held Serrano’s top running back Markus Maholchic on the night. Markus Maholchic did not score a touchdown. 

They said it

Maholchic on Kavanaugh getting the in-game reps, as well as a touchdown, against Victor Valley: “The game moves a lot faster on Fridays and Thursdays but I thought JJ did a great job today stepping in and playing quarterback. I’m very proud of his effort and the way he handled himself. It was outstanding.”

Maholchic on facing former Kistner for the first time as Victor Valley’s head coach: “They’ve got some very good athletes, (Dereith) Browning is a stud in the middle and we struggled blocking him. It was nice to see coach Kistner, he’s got those guys flying around. It was definitely a challenge.”

Chaffee on his first touchdown of the night: “I pinched in and then I realized it was a bad snap so I started going out. I was just hoping to hit him and get him away from the ball to let somebody else scoop and score. But I hit him and then I got up and the ball was in-between my feet so I just dropped down, grabbed it and scored.” 

What’s next

Victor Valley begins Desert Sky League play with a road game against the defending champs, Silverado. Serrano will be back at home to host Apple Valley, who is ranked 34th in the state by CalPreps.com. 

“We have a lot of work to do because there’s going to be some shuffling around,” Maholchic said. “It’s just one of those things. Next man up and we will keep moving forward.”