PREP FOOTBALL : Friday’s Highlights : Hawthorne Tops Palos Verdes, 15-3

The option offense relies on the speed, coordination and decision-making of the quarterback. All that Palos Verdes High School’s option seems to lack is speed, and speed was the problem Friday against Hawthorne.

Hawthorne has one of the nation’s top track programs plus possibly the Southern Section’s fastest football team, and the Cougars used their advantage in speed to spoil Palos Verdes’ option debut, 15-3, in a nonleague game at Palos Verdes.

Palos Verdes, which could muster only five first downs and 73 yards of total offense, scored its only points on a field goal following a Hawthorne fumble near the end of the first half.

“They’re so quick,” Palos Verdes Coach Bill Judy said. “The option was new to us, and we just wanted to give it a try. . . . Obviously, it’s going to go a lot better against a team that’s not as fast.”

Hawthorne quarterback Curtis Conway, a sophomore who ran on Hawthorne’s state champion 1,600-relay team in track, rushed 6 times for 48 yards and a touchdown.

But Palos Verdes’ undoing was in its backfield and offensive line. Senior quarterback Mark Choate seemed able to direct the option when he was given time, which wasn’t very often, and he had almost no time to pass.

“Of course I’m pleased with the defense,” Hawthorne Coach Larry Reed said. “It’s like a Hawthorne tradition. Their quarterback never really had time . . . our line was in there.”

Choate, under constant pressure, completed only 1 of 8 passes for a total of 2 yards. He also threw three interceptions, one leading to a touchdown, and Hawthorne defenders dropped two other potential interceptions.

Even when the Palos Verdes backs were able to get outside, they stood no real chance against the quick Hawthorne secondary. Given the lack of a Palos Verdes passing attack, the Hawthorne defensive backs played up, behind the linebackers, to stop the option.

Hawthorne’s first touchdown came early in the second quarter when running back Richard Harrison, who also plays defensive back, scored from a yard out following his own interception of a Choate pass.

After a Conway fumble, Palos Verdes’ Jeff Goodrich kicked a 34-yard field goal on the last play of the first half.

The Hawthorne offense was less than prolific. Conway did not pass often, and when he did, it seemed to be only deep, overthrown attempts that were unsuccessful. On the ground, he proved elusive.

With the ball on the Palos Verdes 30-yard line and time running out in the game, Reed gave Conway the option to run on fourth-and-one. Conway looked inside, then swept to the right, turned the corner and beat the defense to the end zone for Hawthorne’s second touchdown.