Corp Is an Army of One for Lancers

The aura around Aaron Corp continues to grow. The Orange Lutheran junior, who began last season as a backup but led the Lancers to the Southern Section Division VI title, added another notch to his belt Friday night with 22-15 intersectional victory over Los Angeles Crenshaw.

For the third consecutive game against a ranked opponent, Corp had a scoring run of 55 yards or more, and as he did last week, he sparked a second-half comeback.

His 55-yard run on an option keeper in the third quarter propelled Lutheran (4-0), ranked No. 7 in the Southland by The Times, past No. 18 Crenshaw (2-2), which received an outstanding effort from junior tailback Raymond Carter, who rushed 24 times for 189 yards including an 80-yard touchdown run on the game’s first play.

“For Aaron to outrun some of their guys speaks to his athleticism and competitiveness,” said Lutheran Coach Jim Kunau, who didn’t expect his team to break a long play against the quicker Cougars.

It was Crenshaw’s fourth consecutive game against a ranked opponent, and Lutheran was the best, said Carter, who smiled when he considered Corp’s 55-yard run 2 minutes 52 seconds into the third quarter.

“That was the turning point of the game,” Carter said. “He’s fast. He made big plays. I’ll give him his props.”

Corp completed 10 of 14 passes for only 59 yards with an interception, but 52 yards came in the second half. After Corp’s long scoring run, Ricky Pemasa took an option pitch for a two-point conversion to tie the score, 15-15.

Tyson Seneca, who carried 17 times for 96 yards, scored the decisive touchdown with 5:31 left in the game, capping a 13-play, 61-yard drive. Jesse Padilla’s kick made it 22-15.

Jake Fey then added two interceptions on defense for Lutheran, and Crenshaw’s rally ended on its 44 with 35 seconds left in the game, when Marquis Curtis’ pass to Tyquan Knox was knocked away by James Clinger.

As it did in last week’s 22-19 win against No. 8 Santa Margarita, when it overcame a 19-point deficit, the Lancers were a second-half team.

Lutheran allowed 165 yards in the first half but just 83 in the second. It gained 159 yards in the second half after gaining 82 in the first, 65 on the first series, which was capped by Seneca’s seven-yard run.

Crenshaw, which had four turnovers, lost its season opener to No. 17 Woodland Hills Taft, 35-34, when it committed four first-half turnovers.

Trailing, 7-6, Crenshaw took the lead on an 80-yard, seven-play drive that included a 24-yard run by Carter and ended on Curtis’ one-yard sneak. Crenshaw made it 15-7 when Knox sacked Corp in the end zone.