The Point Loma’s Pointers put up 61 points against University City in a game that was played with a running clock used when one team leads by 35 or more points in the second half.
Playing on the road against the Centurions (0-2 in Eastern League, 1-7 overall) the Pointers scored nine touchdowns in less than the regulation 48 minutes of prep football games, winning by a score of 61-29.
In a game of big numbers, several contributions by Pointer players stood out.
Quarterback Jason Peres completed 73% of his passes for 159 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Wide Receiver Tristan Shafer was one of Peres’ targets, catching four balls for 76 yards (19.0 average) and two touchdown catches of 14 and 19 yards.
Running back/defensive back Kaden Gill carried the ball 11 times for 97 yards, a 5.7 yards per carry average, and scored two touchdowns.
Defensively, Landon Green had 1.5 tackles, one tackle for loss and intercepted two Centurion passes.
Makel White had four tackles and an interception.
And Gill, playing defense, contributed four tackles, two tackles for loss and had a sack.
For the game, the Pointers rolled up 480 yards in total offense including 229 passing and 251 on the ground. They converted each of their seven third-down opportunities and had no turnovers.
Despite only scoring 29 points, the Centurions totaled 463 yards in offense, 425 of it by quarterback Gunnar Gray, once a Point Loma resident who transferred to UC. The Pointer defense held the hosts to only 38 yards on the ground.
Game highlights included a 54-yard pass from Peres to Jaylon Brown, a 36-yard touchdown toss from Peres to White, a 38-yard interception return by Green and an 18-yard touchdown run by rarely used senior Eric Valdez that ignited a celebration by teammates on the sidelines.
“The kids worked really, really hard to come out and win this game as well as we did in all three phases,” said Pointer head coach Mike Hastings after the game. “Offense, defense and special teams all did their part. But more than that, it was a really dominant performance and these kids really deserved it. We know what lies ahead of us, but this was a fun night.” MADISON 37, POINTERS 10
The Pointers grabbed a 10-7 lead on the Warhawks in the second quarter of their Oct. 18 game when Gill took a first-down handoff and ran over left guard on a four-yard touchdown play.
But Madison came back to score four more times before tacking on a safety for the final score. Two lost fumbles and two interceptions thrown by the Pointers contributed to the Warhawk points.
Still, the Pointers totaled 252 yards in offense, 193 of that on the ground.
The loss left Point Loma with a 3-5 overall record, 0-2 in Western League play.
The Pointers conclude the regular season with league games against two CIF division champions from last season.
Tonight (Oct. 25) they welcome Lincoln (5-3 overall, 0-2 in league) to Pete Ross Stadium for their game with kickoff set for 6:30.
They finish Nov. 1 with a game against St. Augustine (6-2 overall, 1-1 in league) to be played at Mesa College. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Playoff pairings for this season will be announced Nov. 2. The most recent rankings available show the Pointers as the ninth seed of 16 Div. II teams. The top 12 earn playoff berths.
