Warriors lose quarterback in addition to game

Fallbrook High lost more than a football game when ninth-ranked Torrey Pines came to town Sept. 8 as starting quarterback Jake McBroom suffered an injury that will sideline him for several weeks in the 44-0 defeat.

McBroom sustained a possible fracture to his left collarbone when he was tackled hard midway through the second quarter. McBroom stayed in the game for another play before revealing his shoulder injury to training staff.

"Tough, tough kid," said head coach Darius Pickett of McBroom, a junior who earlier in the game made a good play when he scrambled away from pass-rushers and connected with slotback Jared Casillas for a 12-yard completion.

"He did a good job," said Pickett of McBroom. "He was good in the pocket, kept his head up for the most part, and avoided a lot of pressure. It was just an unfortunate tackle."

Senior Christian Cruz, listed in the official program as a wide receiver and cornerback, took over at quarterback for McBroom.

"He was fine," said Pickett of Cruz, who had only limited repetitions in practice at the quarterback position.

Cruz seemed enthused about getting some playing time at quarterback.

"He wants to do it and he's willing to do it," said Pickett of Cruz. "He's ready to step up, so we'll see how it goes. Obviously, we'll have to scale back the offense a little bit just to get him comfortable, but he's ready to learn it, so that's a good sign."

The Warriors went into the game at less than full strength as Corbin Nash, who plays guard and middle linebacker, was sidelined with a hip flexor injury, and Luke Conley, who plays wide receiver and quarterback, was out with strep throat. Pickett hopes both players will be back for the Warriors' Sept. 15 home game against Christian.

Torrey Pines scored on its first two possessions and led 14-0 after one quarter. The Falcons put up 16 points in the second quarter to lead 30-0 at the halftime and added two more touchdowns in the third quarter to complete the scoring.

"They are a well-oiled machine," said Pickett of Torrey Pines. "They're a well-coached, disciplined team. Like I told my guys, we're not there yet. It's nothing to beat ourselves up over. We definitely made mistakes that we shouldn't have, but that's what a team like that does – they get you to make mistakes. We just have to learn from it and move on."

The Warrior defense came up with a highlight in the second quarter when defensive end Joseph Portillo chased down Torrey Pines quarterback Jason Heine and stripped him of the ball while sacking him. The fumble was recovered by Fallbrook's Caleb Maxwell

"That was a great play," said Pickett of Portillo's turnover-producing sack.

The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Warriors as Christian brings a 3-0 record into Fallbrook Stadium. The Patriots have outscored their opponents 170-51.

"They are a talented group of kids," said Pickett of Christian. "They get the ball to their athletes, so we just have to be in position and make the plays when they come to us."

Kickoff is 7 p.m.

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