REDLANDS >> It won't go down as one of the Redlands East Valley's prettiest performances, but the 2017 Smudge Pot football game against Redlands on Friday night will go down as a 19-7 win.
The Wildcats (4-3, 3-1) beat the Citrus Belt League rival Terriers for the fifth year in a row.
The Wildcats, who held Redlands scoreless for the first 45 minutes of the game, jumped out to a 12-0 lead after its first two offensive possessions.
From there, REV found the red zone six more times, only finishing one of those with a touchdown. Two of those ended in second-quarter interceptions, one on a turnover on downs, another with a punt following a penalty, and a lastly with the game clock expiring.
The difference for REV came down to its defense. Until a 96-yard touchdown pass from Chris Aguilar to Jakobie James, Redlands had only approached midfield twice and crossed it once. On that one occasion, the Terriers reached the Wildcats' 49 on a second down, only to lose a yard on the next play and punt.
Bruich said a difference was playing Billy Bowens both ways, having him match up with James defensively.
Offensively, Myles Herrera threw for 256 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Isaiah Holiness ended up his top target, hauling in nine passes for 152 yards. Gabe Clark ran for 103 yards and a TD, and Bowens and Seth Zappia each caught one of Herrera's two first-quarter TD passes.
For Redlands (1-6, 0-4), it's now dropped six straight after beginning the season with a win over Palm Springs. The Terriers came up big with its situation defensive play, highlighted by interceptions from Brian Landon and Edward Wirtz.