Granada Hills’ Leach Throws 4 Touchdowns

Jeremy Leach may have a tendency to jump schools, as he did this year when he transfered from L.A. Baptist High to Granada Hills, but he has found happiness as a Highlander and just may stay put this time.

“I was expecting everything to go well here,” he said. “And right now, I can’t ask for more.”

Friday night at Granada Hills, Leach gave the Highlanders more than they could ask for, passing for 215 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-12 nonleague victory over Chatsworth.

Leach, a 6-2, 200-pound junior, completed 12 of 20 passes, including two scoring strikes to tight end Sean Brown.

Behind Leach, Granada Hills bolted out to a 21-6 lead at halftime.

The Highlanders (2-0) wasted little time getting on the board, scoring on their first possession of the game.

Leach hit Brown with a 17-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0.

Leach completed 6 of 8 passes for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first half.

His second scoring pass came with 46 seconds left in the first quarter, when he hit running back Khalid Ali with a 29-yard pass to give Granada Hills a 14-6 advantage.

One player earlier, Leach had connected with Ali for a 19-yard scoring strike, but the play was called back because of a holding penalty.

Less than three minutes earlier, Chatsworth running back Spence Durham had pulled the Chancellors within a point when he scored on a 14-yard run.

Kicker Matt Helms’ point-after attempt was blocked by Jamal Farmer.

At the time, it looked as if Farmer’s block might prove decisive.

Leach, however, found Ali in the end zone on the following drive, and Mike Davis later scored on a seven-yard run with 33 seconds left in the half to give the Highlanders a comfortable 21-6 lead.

Ali finished with 112 yards on 17 carries. Durham gained 141 yards on 18 carries for Chatsworth. His five-yard touchdown run early in the second half closed the margin to 21-12, but a run by Durham on a two-conversion attempt was stopped short of the end zone.