What’s worse?

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It’s doubtful that Ganesha had much fun in its 85-0 loss to Duarte, and it’s safe to say Animo didn’t yuk it up in a 75-0 loss to Morningside, and that Pasadena Marshall didn’t exactly enjoy its 55-0 loss to Bell-Jeff.

To hear Morningside Coach Lafayette Fletcher tell it, though, being on the winning end of such blowouts is no picnic, either.

‘You just want it to be over as soon as possible, and hope that you come out of it without any injuries,’ he said.

Despite efforts to speed things up, senior offensive lineman Meshack Joyner suffered a strained right knee and is expected to sit out the the team’s next game against visiting Torrance on Friday at Coleman Stadium.

The clock was running in the second half, but not fast enough for the Monarchs (2-1), who led, 55-0, by the break. Morningside, which got 191 yards and five touchdowns on nine of 10 passing from senior quarterback Travis Harvey in the first half, did not throw the ball in the second.

Still, Morningside was too much for Animo (0-3). Senior running back Brian Nam rushed 10 times for 178 yards and three touchdowns. The Monarchs also returned two punts -- one of which they blocked -- for a touchdown, and returned one of four interceptions for another score.

Fletcher was taken by surprise not so much by the victory, but by the margin of it, because Animo had at least scored in a 61-34 loss to Chadwick and a 64-50 setback against St. Genevieve. But he makes not apologies for winning, and he doesn’t have to.

He knows what it’s like to be on the other end of such results.

The Monarchs lost, 62-7, in the first round of the 2006 Southern Section playoffs to eventual Western Division champion Dominguez, and that was after they had finished the regular season tied for second in the Ocean League.

‘I’ve been on the other end of these kind of things, and let me tell you, it’s bad, no matter what side you’re on,’ Fletcher said. ‘You’re like, in limbo, like, ‘Should I score? Should I slow down?’ You’re not sure what to do. That’s what makes these things hard.

‘People tend to think we must have been piling it on or something. But really, we’re just a pretty good team playing very well in all aspects.’

- Lauren Peterson