By RONALD MILLER

The Blackhawk varsity boys team battles against the Wildcats for their last soccer game of the season on Feb. 7, 2020 at Citrus Valley High. “The game was balanced and the results could have fallen either way” says Alex Gaede, a Citrus Valley soccer coach. (Ethan Dewri / Ethic Photo)

The atmosphere in the Hodges Stadium was electric as Citrus Valley High School had another chance on February 7 to strip the Citrus Belt League title from Redlands East Valley Highschool at the CV versus REV soccer game. This game decided whether Carter Highschool or REV took home the Citrus Belt League title.

With the players all lined up to start the match, the referee blew his whistle and the teams began their high stakes game. REV towered over the Citrus Valley team with their size, however Citrus was unfazed and properly prepared for the occasion. From the very start, REV looked for an early goal and missed many opportunities until Luca Russo landed a shot into the top left corner of the goal. 

Although the Citrus boys were losing, they did not give up; in fact encouragement and energy permeated through the team. Junior Yahir Ocampo leveled the score with a free kick, and with their heads held high, the referee signaled for halftime and Citrus ended the game tied at 1-1.

After halftime, the game pressed on. Citrus Valley boys were still fighting for a victory and REV was as motivated as ever to beat their inter-city rivals. Although during the beginning of the second half the score was equal—each team having chances to score—REV finally capitalized on a mistake by the Citrus Valley team. Though Citrus put in a valiant effort, it was still not enough to break the formidable defense REV posed, ending the game with a REV victory by a score of 1-2.