Roosevelt responds and defeats Garfield
Trailing, 9-7, at halftime in the East L.A. Classic, Los Angeles Roosevelt turned to the versatile Manny Ayon to ignite its offense, and the Roughriders (8-1, 5-0) went on to claim a 28-16 victory over Los Angeles Garfield (4-5, 2-3) before close to a capacity crowd at East Los Angeles College.
Ayon, normally a wide receiver, was inserted at quarterback in the third quarter. He responded with 111 yards rushing and a touchdown.
Elgin Rosales of Roosevelt had 112 yards rushing to help Roosevelt clinch at least a share of the Eastern League title.
There were three lead changes in the second half. Garfield’s last lead came when William Fonseca caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Leonardo Vaal with 5:01 left in the third quarter.
But Roosevelt went ahead for good on the opening play of the fourth quarter, a one-yard touchdown run by Jesse Lira. Later, William Linares recovered a fumble by Vaal on the Garfield 13 to set up an 18-yard touchdown run by Rosales.
On Roosevelt’s opening drive, Ayon passed five yards to quarterback Brandon Sifuentes for a touchdown. Garfield got a 37-yard field goal from Marco Arce with 19 seconds left in the second quarter for a 9-7 halftime lead.
This was the 75th meeting between the two schools, and the crowd numbered close to 20,000. Roosevelt now leads the series 40-29-6.
-- Eric Sondheimer
--
Edison beats Fountain Valley
Huntington Beach Edison defeated Sunset League rival Fountain Valley, 24-0, on Friday at Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Stadium, marking the eighth time in 10 seasons the Chargers won the “Battle of the Bell.”
Edison (9-0, 4-0), ranked No. 3 in the Southland by The Times, also won the 39-year rivalry for the fifth consecutive season, marking the second time it accomplished that feat in regular-season matchups. With the victory, the Chargers clinched the league title.
Junior running back Davion Orphey had 12 carries for 121 yards and two touchdowns and kicker Markus Trujillo connected on three field goals for the Chargers.
Fountain Valley (8-1, 3-1) couldn’t establish an offensive rhythm, thanks to a stingy Edison defense that limited senior quarterback Dominic Ragland to six of 14 for 24 yards with one interception. Senior running back Kyle Middlebrooks had 17 carries for 94 yards.
After finishing the first half with a 13-0 lead, the Chargers still stayed sharp.
They forced Fountain Valley to a three-and-out on the second half’s opening drive. On the next possession, Orphey charged up the middle for a 37-yard run that brought Edison to Fountain Valley’s 10-yard line. Two plays later, he ran in for a three-yard touchdown and then ran in for a two-point conversion, giving the Chargers a 21-0 lead with 7:06 left in the third quarter.
It appeared Fountain Valley still had a chance to avoid a shutout. Edison senior quarterback Matt Viles left the game toward the end of the third quarter after injuring his left shoulder and the Barons recovered a fumble on their 46.
But on Fountain Valley’s third play of the drive, Chargers senior linebacker Shaun McLaughlin intercepted a pass from Ragland. Seven plays later, Trujillo connected on his third field goal for a 24-0 lead with 7:43 left.
-- Mark Medina
--
Two-minute drill
Norco (8-1, 6-0) took over first place in the Big VIII League with a 29-28 victory over Corona Centennial when Taylor Viloria scored on a two-point conversion with less than 30 seconds left. . . . Los Angeles Cathedral improved to 9-0 with a 32-16 Del Rey League victory over North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake. . . . La Puente Bishop Amat (8-1) fell from the unbeaten ranks after losing to Encino Crespi, 38-25, in a Serra League game. Rasheed Johnson scored two touchdowns for Crespi.