The Jordan Panther defense is like an ace starting pitcher.  It’s good, but it gets a lot better when playing with a lead.  For the second straight week, the offense provided the cushion, and the defense brought the heat as Jordan (3-0) took down Capistrano Valley (2-1) at Capistrano Valley High School on Friday, 38-7.

Jordan’s Vincent Porter took the opening kickoff to the Capo Valley 30-yard line.  Junior C.J. Wiley scored on a 27-yard run a few plays later and the Panthers were off and running.

Capo Valley runs a modified spread option, something most teams struggle to adjust to, but Jordan isn’t most teams.  Setting the tone for the night was defensive lineman Marcus Lewis, who scooped up a Cougar fumble on their first drive, and returned it 80 yards for the touchdown.

“Our kids prepare well, and we’ve got some good football players,” said Jordan coach Scott Meyer, whose defense has given up only 20 points in three games.  “We got after them, and our speed really helped us.”

While the defense was corralling the Capo Valley attack, quarterback John Timu was playing his best game of the young season, making some great touch passes and buying time with his feet.  Brendan Hardman, Taniela Maka, Wiley, and Porter all scored touchdowns, and the game was essentially over at halftime.

After a disappointing 2006 campaign, this is the second year Jordan has started 3-0.  Last year, the Moore League schedule brought with it some bad luck for the black cats, but honestly, if this defense was playing last year, it would’ve been a different story.