Western ends 43-game losing streak with win over Rancho

For the first time since Nov. 5, 2010, the Western Warriors (1-0) know what it feels like to win a football game.

Senior quarterback Joseph Medley threw two touchdown passes, the Warriors’ defense was on the top of its game and the Warriors coasted to a 20-0 home victory over the Rancho Rams.

The Warriors’ last real victory came against Pahrump Valley 20-14 on that November night. The Warriors last official win was by forfeit on Aug. 31, 2012, against Shadow Ridge.

Medley and fellow seniors Anthony Shelby and Eric Hughes were ecstatic after the game.

“Man, I’m so happy right now,” Medley said in the locker room after dousing coach Tyler Tuiasosopo with Pepsi. “I couldn’t have done it without these coaches, man. I want everybody here, everybody who doubted us, to know we finally did it. We finally did it.”

Tuiasosopo said his team had an excellent summer and wanted to put the 43-game losing streak to rest.

“The kids were ready for a win. The school was ready for a win. And so we wanted to provide that tonight,” Tuiasosopo said. “It was just an amazing night for our staff, our school, our student body, and our band is (still) rocking. It was just awesome atmosphere at Western High School tonight.”

The Warriors set the tone early with a nine-play, 65-yard drive that Shelby capped with a 10-yard touchdown run.

“That was very important, very important,” Medley said. “We had to come out and let them know that we are not the old Western, we are the new Western.”

The Warriors knew this was going to be a special night on their second possession, too.

Facing a third-and-36 on their own 30-yard line, Medley scrambled left and connected with Shelbyon a post pattern for a 70-yard touchdown score.

“We took a shot, and our guys responded,” Tuiasosopo said. “Every time we dialed up a big play, they responded big. It just speaks to their maturity and their will.”

The Warriors added their final score when Medley hit Hughes for a 32-yard touchdown with 17 seconds remaining in the first half.

Medley finished the night completing 7 of 15 for 179 yards and the two scores. Senior running back Rayjon Reed led the Warriors on the ground, rushing for 83 yards on 16 carries.

As impressive as Western was on Friday night, several penalties stagnated scoring opportunities in the second half. Tuiasosopo hopes to get those problems cleaned up this upcoming week in practice.

“Our errors are something we can correct,” Tuiasosopo said. “We try to mimic that as much as we can in practice, but you can never replace game situations … We’ll clean that up and I think we’ll be OK.”