Prep Football: Nighthawks blanked in Avocado East opener

The start of Avocado East League play Friday provided the opportunity of a fresh start for two football teams that came in with a combined record of 2-8.

Vista took its opportunity and ran with it, capping its homecoming festivities by beating Del Norte 22-0 at Dick Haines Stadium.

Brandon Price rushed for 101 yards on 15 carries, and the Panthers’ defensive unit turned in a suffocating performance led by Donovan Pati, Arian Taduran, Josh Ketcher and Messiah Tinoasamoa, who combined for seven tackles for losses. Pati and Taduran had sacks. Abraham Lopez and Noah Nicholson intercepted passes. Ketcher recovered a fumble.

The Panthers took a 12-0 halftime lead on Price’s 6-yard touchdown run, a high snap that sailed out of the end zone on an attempted punt for a safety and a 27-yard field goal by Chris Stalter.

Stalter added a 41-yard field goal in the third quarter, and new Texas transfer Jabraalyl Hopkins — whom coach Danny Williams used primarily as a decoy — added a 2-yard touchdown run with 25 seconds left in the game.

Vista improved to 2-4, while Del Norte fell to 1-5.

Bottom line: The Panthers are off to a 1-0 start in league play and have discovered something that had been unfamiliar in the first half of the season — momentum — going into next week’s home game against unbeaten El Camino.