A trip to Willows last Friday night served the Williams Yellowjackets well as they extended their win streak to five games with a 42-6 drubbing of the Honkers, and, more importantly, now sit in sole possession of first place in the Mid-Valley League.
Again, it was the ‘Jacket defense with a strong performance, forcing four turnovers, recording five sacks, and keeping Willows off the board until the final period of the game.
Pacing Williams with 16 tackles, including 12 solo, was middle linebacker Lorenzo Ruvalcaba, along with his counterpart on the outside, Luis Murillo, who accounted for 10 more.
Miguel Rivera and Jayr Ramirez both intercepted passes, while Ty Howell recorded two sacks and forced two fumbles for the swarming defense.
Offensively, the Yellowjackets got rolling in the second quarter after a Rivera 11-yard touchdown catch on a pass from quarterback Omar Lomeli, who then closed out the half connecting with Ramirez for a two-yard score.
Lomeli, who returned from an injury, suffered earlier this month against Upper Lake, completed 10 of 19 passes for 181 yards and four touchdowns.
After Ramirez tacked on the two-point conversion, the ‘Jackets took a 14-0 lead into the locker room and then proceeded to break the game open in the third quarter.
Two Ramirez touchdown receptions of seven and 35 yards, respectively, in addition to a 50-yard scoring play from Lomeli to Rivera, put Williams up 32-0 with one quarter still remaining.
Although the Honkers got a late touchdown, Rivera, who caught five balls for 147 yards on the night, found the end zone for a third time, after hauling in a 25-yard pass from Sam Lopez.
Williams (6-2, 3-0) now turns its attention to the Trinity Wolves, who sit just a game behind the ‘Jackets in the MVL and visit McCarl Field this Friday night.■