Gilmore Speeds Past North Hollywood as Poly Triumphs, 21-13

North Hollywood High has had its share of problems this season on the football field.

The Huskies haven’t been able to generate enough offense and lack a killer instinct on defense. On Friday, however, the Huskies ran into a problem of another kind--the Jerry Gilmore kind.

Gilmore, a 6-0 senior, carried 22 times for 243 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead Polytechnic to a 21-13 victory and its first win of the season. It was the first Pac 8 League game for both teams.

“We knew he had the potential,” Poly coach Dick Windham said. “It was just a matter of him going out there and proving it.”

Although the Huskies played their defensive secondary only six yards off the line of scrimmage after Gilmore scored twice, it didn’t seem to matter much. The elusive halfback ran at will against a dazed and confused North Hollywood defense that may see blurs of No. 10 for some time to come.

Gilmore’s first score took the Huskies and most of the sparse crowd by surprise. The Parrots had the ball at their own 47 when quarterback Donald Senegal pitched to Gilmore, who found a hole on the right side and ran uncontested into the end zone.

Poly scored again on its second possession. On an almost identical play, Gilmore took the ball 75 yards up the right sideline to put the Parrots ahead, 14-0. Gilmore’s first-half statistics were most impressive: eight carries for 178 yards and two touchdowns.

North Hollywood blew good field position the first time it had the ball. After driving 58 yards in eight plays and putting the ball at the Poly 22, the Huskies committed five penalties and eventually were forced to punt.

North Hollywood did score in the first half, despite a lackluster offensive performance. Starting quarterback Frank Schibella was replaced by Cedric Nelson, who took the Huskies 54 yards in 12 plays with Mark Stanford running the final five yards to get the Huskies on the board with only 1:14 left in the half.

North Hollywood scored again when Stanford returned a kickoff 88 yards in the third quarter to put the score at 21-13.

Both teams came into this first league game looking for a win. Poly is 1-2, while North Hollywood, at 0-3, is still looking.

Poly out-gained North Hollywood in total offense. Due largely to Gilmore, the Parrots tallied 321 total yards. The Huskies, on the other hand, could only manage 285 yards with two passers and six players carrying the ball.