The La Jolla High football team dodged the raindrops and scored three times in the final quarter in posting a 28-14 win over host Brawley last Friday evening.
On the third play of the game, Viking senior tailback Jerrell Agnew broke through the left side of the Brawley line and scampered 64 yards for a very early touchdown (Lee Abelkop PAT), giving La Jolla a 7-0 lead.
Tied at 7-7 in the second quarter, the Vikings were turned away from a possible score when Brawley picked off a pass deep in their own territory. The hosts took the turnover and scored two plays later to carry a 14-7 lead into halftime.
As the fourth quarter started, La Jolla (3-1) was starting to take control of the line on both offense and defense.
Quarterback sacks by junior linebackers Henry Nawahine and Harper Allan put Brawley in poor field position throughout the quarter. Nawahine also caused two fumbles that both led to Viking scores.
On the offensive side, the line, led by Hans Baker, Kevin Leyva and Mike Gartman, blasted open holes that allowed Agnew to run for 85 yards in the fourth quarter alone, as he scored on runs of 6, 7 and 2 yards.
Agnew finished the evening with 205 yards on 23 carries and four touchdowns.
Senior fullback Ja’Rodd Watson picked up 67 yards on 10 carries and also contributed on defense with 10 total tackles and a recovered fumble.
Allen finished with seven tackles for the evening, while Nawahine added six tackles as well as a recovered fumble.
For the season, Agnew has scored 12 touchdowns in four games and is averaging 128 yards a game.
“I am real happy with the win,” La Jolla High head coach Dave Ponsford said. “Traveling 2 1/2 hours by bus and playing a good football team in the rain is never easy. We hung in there during the game, and I think that we were in better condition than they were by the time we entered the fourth quarter. I hope the kids keep that in mind as we work them in practice this week.”
La Jolla is back home Friday evening when it opens up league play against Serra at 7 p.m.
On the junior varsity side, La Jolla is now 4-0.
The team is led by the strong play of quarterback Zac Zlatic, tight end Taylor Davis, linebacker Ikaika Velasco and lineman Cameron Holmes.
The Bishop’s School rolled once again, scoring a 55-0 win over visiting Tijuana Federal Prep last Friday night.
Tim Costello (four catches, 101 yards) accounted for three TDs with two catches and a punt return, while QB Tommy Wornham (12-of-19, 244 yards) tossed three for scores. Saron Hood caught four balls for 83 yards and a TD. Jacob Kelly rushed four times for 109 yards and one TD.
Defensively, Zach Frantz, Alex Carrillo and Mike P. Jensen each recorded a sack, while Conner Thomas had two interceptions.
“I’m very proud of how our team played,” Bishop’s head coach Mike David said. “We must continue to play at a high speed as we get closer to league play.”
Bishop’s travels to Crawford (2-1) on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m.
Meantime, La Jolla Country Day School dropped a 49-26 decision to visiting Francis Parker last Thursday evening.
“Although the loss dropped the Torreys win-loss record to 1-3, the effort proved that there is plenty to build upon and that this young team has a chance to win a lot of games this season,” LJCD head coach Jeff Hutzler said.
Three huge Torrey turnovers (two interceptions and a kickoff returned for a TD) led to 21 Francis Parker points. Without those three big mistakes, the score would have been 28-26.
Francis Parker is 3-0, has a line that averages 256 pounds per man, and has been to the CIF championship game the past two years, winning the crown in 2005.
LJCD QB Derek Hatfield hit 17-of-36 passes for 286 yards, one TD (38 yards) and three interceptions. Hatfield also tallied a TD on the ground. Senior receiver John Hansbrough was the Torreys’ leading receiver with 96 yards on seven catches, including a 38-yard TD reception that put LJCD up 7-6 midway through the first quarter.
Cody Maxwell and Montell Allen led the LJCD defense, each racking up eight tackles.
Next up for LJCD is visiting Foothills Christian (3-1) on Friday night at 7 p.m.
University City High saw its record drop to 2-2 with a 57-20 loss at El Capitan.
The Centurions got scores from Marcus Gibson, Alex Scarlett and Skyler Doughtery.