For Steele Canyon High School, last Friday’s football game at Point Loma High School (PLHS) was all about payback. Last season, Point Loma denied the Cougars a first-ever trip to Qualcomm Stadium when the Pointers edged them 30-26 in a thrilling Division III semifinal. On Friday afternoon, the Cougars got their revenge — and then some. Steele Canyon walked off the turf at Bennie Edens Stadium with a convincing 35-8 victory that left the Pointers 3-2 heading into Western League play beginning Oct. 15. “We know we need to improve,” said Pointers head coach Mike Hastings. “There are a lot of things we’ll take away from this. There were good things we did, and the film will bear that out, and there are a lot of things we need to correct.” The 2010 Cougars are currently ranked No. 6 in the section, and are bigger and stronger than last year’s edition. This year’s young Pointer squad is a group that is learning and waiting for veteran senior leadership to emerge.  Against the Cougars, Point Loma was without starting quarterback Sean McKaveney, who broke his left (non-throwing) wrist early in the Pointers’ 21-14 victory over Scripps Ranch on Sept. 24. That game had been dedicated to assistant coach Bill Hastings — father of Mike Hastings — after the elder Hastings was diagnosed with cancer in the days before the game. Backup QB Thomas Mize, who directed the Pointer offense capably against Scripps Ranch after McKaveney’s exit, received a rude welcome from Steele Canyon. The Cougars hurried and harassed Mize all afternoon behind a lethargic offensive line that drew the ire of the Point Loma coaching staff. The Pointer offense, which had rolled up high yardage totals against several opponents, was limited to 101 total yards, including only 34 net yards rushing. Leading rusher Jaivon Griffin, who had been averaging nearly 10 yards per carry, was held to 15 yards on nine carries. The Pointers recorded only one offensive play of more than nine yards, a nicely thrown 33-yard touchdown pass from Mize to Matt Magers. After a procedure penalty, Mize hit Magers again from eight yards out for the two-point conversion that gave the Pointers momentary life midway through the third quarter. Up 16-8 at that point, the Cougars ran off 19 unanswered points to put the game away. “On defense, we played one of the best teams pretty well for three quarters,” said senior defensive back Josh Sakover. “Then we just got discouraged, I guess.” Following the Mize-Magers touchdown, Steele Canyon’s next possession included a 70-yard run to the Pointers’ five-yard line and a too-easy score on the following play for a 22-8 advantage. The only PLHS turnover of the day came on the next possession when Mize lost the ball at his own 10-yard line after again being pursued by hungry Cougar defenders. The visitors promptly scored again and Magers’ first of two extra point blocks left the score at 29-8. In the fourth quarter, with the Pointers heading into the wind, a Diaz punt gave the Cougars a short 36-yard field. One long run through a spent Pointers defense gave the visitors their final 35-8 margin with 8:16 left to play. A much-needed bye week awaits the Pointers, who will have a list of improvements to work on as they prepare for their Western League opener with rival La Jolla. The battle for “The Shoe” kicks off Oct. 15 at 6:30 p.m. in La Jolla. “We’ll have to see our mistakes and take it from there,” Sakover said. “It’s our first league game [Oct. 15] and we’ll have to work hard in practice.” “Now we focus our attention on La Jolla, trying to get better and go win a Western League championship,” Hastings said.