PREP FOOTBALL : Friday’s Highlights : Locke and Verbum Dei Tie, 40-40

Four quarters weren’t enough for L.A. Locke’s Darian Hagan on Friday.

After Brisco/Clark Field had cleared and the stands emptied, all that remained of the 40-40 tie between L.A. Locke and Verbum Dei was Hagan--perhaps the City’s finest football player--and three Gatorade coolers.

Fittingly, Hagan carried them down the field--as he had carried his team throughout the afternoon--and back across the Locke High campus to the locker room.

“I’m not tired--I’m ready for another quarter,” Hagan said after carrying 21 times for 287 yards and 3 touchdowns and passing for 171 yards and 2 more touchdowns. “I’ve still got it left.”

Verbum Dei, which is top-ranked in the Southern Section’s Northwestern Conference, got more than enough of “it” Friday. Hagan--a junior who played running back, quarterback, and punted--ran for a 67-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage and never really slowed.

He also scored on runs of 61 and 35 yards, and passed 43 and 86 yards for touchdowns. He ran back punts and kickoffs. He also punted, once for 48 yards, another for only 2 yards.

Verbum Dei quarterback Derrick Billoups was also brilliant, scoring 5 touchdowns while running for 260 yards and passing for another score. But Billoups was noticeably absent when the Eagles--leading, 40-34, with time running out--needed to keep the ball.

As it was, the Locke defense held, Verbum Dei punted, and Hagan drove the Saints to the one-yard line, from where Donovan Moore scored with 22 seconds remaining. On the subsequent try for a two-point conversion, Moore was stopped short of the goal line by defensive lineman Samuel Ross.

“I was stupid,” Verbum Dei Coach Lalo Mendoza said of taking out Billoups. “His hand was hurting him, and I decided to let him rest. This is only a practice game, and you like to get in as many guys as you can.”

Hagan, the quarterback on the two-point try, said it was his fault Locke didn’t convert. “They (the Verbum Dei defense) were stacked up on the right side. The play was a slant, but I should have kept it.”

With the score tied, 26-26, Hagan seemingly shanked a punt from the Locke 13, leading to a Verbum Dei score. According to both Hagan and Locke Coach E.C. Robinson, the ball didn’t fly because the ball was flat.

“It was flat. Can you believe it?” Hagan asked. “I don’t know how it even got in the (ball) bag. . . . I got the snap, and the ball was flat.”

Robinson, who also saw one of his kickers miss the ball on the last kickoff of the game, seemed more frustrated with the ball than Hagan’s kick. “The ball . . . it . . . well, it didn’t have any air in it,” Robinson said. “It’s amazing.”

Locke, ranked No. 7 in the Times’ City Section poll, is 0-1-1.

In other games:

City Crenshaw 21, Fairfax 0--Defending 3-A champion Fairfax was held to 186 yards total offense in the nonleague game at Fairfax. Crenshaw defensive tackle Alfred Saunders recovered a fumble in the end zone in the third quarter and had 2 sacks and 8 tackles. Linebacker Rodney Scott contributed 12 tackles. Senior running back Lamont Peters carried 16 times for 120 yards and 1 touchdown. Crenshaw, The Times’ No. 4-ranked team, improved to 2-0. Fairfax is 0-2.

Southern Section Canyon Country Canyon 26, Thousand Oaks 7--Ken Sollom completed 11 of 14 passes for 215 yards and 3 touchdowns in a nonleague game at Canyon as the Cowboys won their 41st consecutive game. Thousand Oaks (2-1) took a 7-0 lead, but Canyon came back when Sollom hooked up with Trevor Doyle on a 69-yard touchdown pass to pull within 7-6 when Canyon missed the two-point conversion. In the second quarter, Chris Peery caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Sollom, and Sollom ran in the conversion to make it 14-7. Sollom added a third touchdown pass, this one to Chad Ziegler for 10 yards to give Canyon a 20-7 lead in the third quarter. Paul Chadwell added a 56-yard touchdown run on the last play of the third quarter for Canyon’s final score. In three games, Sollom has completed 42 of 62 passes for 693 yards and 10 touchdowns. Canyon is 3-0, Thousand Oaks 2-1.

West Covina South Hills 35, Baldwin Park 28--With the score tied at 28-28 and 8:30 remaining, Jimmy Mire scored from eight yards out to give the Huskies the victory in the nonleague game at Covina District Stadium. Kranz finished with 80 yards in 15 carries, and teammate Joey Rushing gained 89 yards in 10 carries. Quarterback Matt Kranz completed 5 of 11 passes including a touchdown pass play of 65 yards to Kevin Anastasia. Baldwin Park quarterback Rico Salcedo completed 21 of 40 passes for 313 yards and 4 touchdowns. Sophomore Bruno Haro had 9 receptions including touchdowns of 10, 11 and 14 yards. South Hills, the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference, is 3-0. Baldwin Park is 0-3.

Encino Crespi 28, Santa Barbara 0--Sophomore Russell White gained 193 yards in 19 carries, caught 3 passes for 25 yards and scored twice in the nonleague game at Santa Barbara. In three games, White has rushed for 451 yards on just 33 attempts for 13.7 yards per carry and has 7 touchdowns. Quarterback Robert O’Byrne completed 9 of 11 passes for 112 yards. The Crespi defense held the Dons to just 50 yards rushing. Crespi is 3-0, Santa Barbara 0-3.

El Toro 21, Westminster 0--Junior quarterback Bret Johnson threw first-half touchdown passes of 6 and 27 yards, and the El Toro defense, led by Cory Wayland and Scott Spaulding, caused six turnovers in the nonleague game at Westminster. Johnson completed 13 of 21 passes for 145 yards for The Times’ No. 2 ranked team. Westminster, ranked No. 4, was led by quarterback Mike Austin, who completed 12 of 26 passes for 157 yards but had 4 interceptions including 2 by Adam Brass. El Toro is 3-0 and Westminster is 1-1-1.

Pasadena Muir 31, Inglewood Morningside 6--Muir running back Ricky Ervins demonstrated his all-around offensive skills by running for 62 yards in 11 carries, catching 6 passes for 93 yards, returning 2 kickoffs for 46 yards and 2 punts for 29 yards for a total of 230 yards in the nonleague game at Sentinal Field. Teammate Vincent Phillips completed 14 of 26 passes for 186 yards and 3 touchdowns for the No. 2-ranked team in the Coastal Conference. Muir is 3-0, and Morningside is 1-2.

Temple City 24, Arcadia 0--In a battle of 2-0 teams, Temple City quarterback Tim Vance connected on touchdown passes of 20 and 16 yards to Scott Rowland and ran for a third score in the nonleague game at Temple City.