Prep Football Roundup : Beverly Hills’ Crawford Gets Even

It wasn’t Hawthorne’s fault that Willie Crawford of Beverly Hills High School dropped that interception in last year’s game between the teams, but this years Hawthorne sure paid for it.

Tailback Crawford punished Hawthorne with 172 yards in 29 carries, and Beverly Hills, given great field position because of Hawthorne’s inability to punt effectively, rallied from a 14-0 deficit to defeat Hawthorne, 17-14, in the Ocean League opener for both teams Friday at Beverly Hills.

“Last year, I dropped an interception late in the game, and on the next play they scored to win,” Crawford, who also plays linebacker, said. “I was kind of waiting to redeem myself.”

Early on, it appeared he wouldn’t have the chance.

On its first offensive play, Hawthorne’s track team in pads lived up to its reputation as running back Yke Vallery took a handoff, raced to the sidelines and outran the Beverly Hills defense for an 82-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead.

Hawthorne (4-2) scored again when lineman Robert Erena, living out every defensive lineman’s dream, intercepted a screen pass and returned 16 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

In danger of being blown out, Beverly Hills got some help from an unlikely source--Hawthorne punter Eddie Korn.

Stopped at their 13 early in the second quarter, Hawthorne was forced to punt. But Korn got a bad bounce, as his punt bounced backwards and gave Beverly Hills (5-1) the ball at the Hawthorne 21. The defense held Beverly Hills to a field goal.

On Hawthorne’s next possession, Korn managed only a 14-yard punt, giving Beverly Hills the ball at the Hawthorne 33. Crawford went 15 yards on the next play, carrying Hawthorne tacklers to the Hawthorne 18, and later scored on a five-yard run to pull Beverly Hills within five points at 14-9 after they missed the two-point conversion.

“Our punting’s just atrocious,” Hawthorne Coach Larry Reed said. His team’s passing game was even worse--Hawthorne failed to complete a pass.

The score remained 14-9 until the fourth quarter, when Beverly Hills took over at the Hawthorne 42 following a 23-yard punt. Beverly Hills drove to the 21, where the drive was kept alive when Hawthorne was offside on a fourth-and-three play, giving Beverly Hills a first down at the 16.

Beverly Hills scored on the next play when quarterback Jason Goldberg threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Chris Harding, who made a sliding catch in the end zone. The same pair combined for a two-point conversion to give Beverly Hills a 17-14 edge.

In other games:

SOUTHERN SECTION Lompoc 21, Santa Maria 20 (OT)--Troy Villa of Lompoc scored on a 3-yard run with 1:03 remaining in regulation play, and Kou Hang kicked the point after touchdown to tie the Northern League game at 14. In overtime, Matt Almaguer scored on a 6-yard run for Santa Maria, but a high snap caused a missed extra point. Lompoc then tied the game at 20-20 on 10-yard pass from Eric Pacheco to Joe Aldridge, and Hang added the winning kick. Pacheco finished the game with 12 of 17 completions for 135 yards, and Aldridge had 7 receptions for 109 yards. Almaguer also scored on runs 70 yards and 1 yard. Jacque LaBlanc, who had 570 yards in 110 carries over five games for Santa Maria, gained 97 yards on 17 carries. Santa Maria, the No. 3 team in the Northwest Conference, is 0-1 in the league and 5-1 overall. Lompoc is 1-0 and 3-3.

Ramona 55, Perris 20--Richard Cavazos ran for 188 yards and 4 touchdowns, and teammate Lavone( Edwards added 162 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the rout in a Ivy League game at Ramona. Cavaso carried the ball 17 times, with touchdown runs of 52, 31, 3 and 25 yards, while Edwards carried the ball 11 times and had touchdown runs of 94, 18 and 22 yards. Cavazos had three touchdowns and Edwards two touchdowns as Ramona jumped to a 32-6 halftime lead. Ramona (5-1 overall, 3-0 in league) finished with 468 yards rushing. Perris is 3-3, 0-3 in league.

Colton 43, Redlands 26--George Hemingway of Colton, the Southern Section’s leading rusher, gained 234 yards in 25 carries and had 4 touchdowns in the Citrus Belt League game at the University of Redlands. In six games, Hemingway has amassed 1,255 yards in 138 carries and has 13 touchdowns. Colton is 2-1 in the league and 4-2 overall. Redlands is 1-2 and 3-3.

Crespi 41, Notre Dame 3--Sophomore Russell White, playing a little more than two quarters, rushed for 210 yards and touchdowns of 4, 60, 48 and 10 yards in just 13 carries at Crespi in the Del Rey League opener for both teams. In six games, White has gained 983 yards on just 64 carries for a 15.4 yards per carry average. J. J. Lasley, White’s replacement, had 99 yards in 11 carries. Crespi, The Times’ No. 5-ranked team, is 6-0, and Notre Dame is 2-4. The Celt defense limited Notre Dame to just 25 yards total offense, all in the second half.

Canyon 40, Saugus 7--Ken Sollom passed for 265 yards and 4 touchdowns, connecting on 11 of 20,in the Golden League game at College of the Canyons. In six games, Sollom has thrown for 1,365 yards and 14 touchdowns. Canyon receiver Drevor Doyle had 6 catches for 147 yards and added 141 yards in kickoff returns. The win was the 44th straight for the Cowboys. Canyon, The Times’ No. 3-ranked team, is 1-0 in the league and 6-0 overall. Saugus is 0-1 and 0-6.

CITY

Carson 35, Crenshaw 6--Carson senior Alvin Goree carrried 11 times for 120 yards in the Pacific League opener at Gardena High to break Jim Vaipou’s school career rushing record. In three years, Goree has totaled 1,685 yards, surpassing Vaipou’s 1,611 set in 1970 and 1071. Goree also scored on 55-yard run. Carson, The Times’ second ranked team, led, 21-0, with 1:21 left in the first quarter and led at halftime, 28-0. Crenshaw, ranked No. 6, got its only touchdown with 6:30 remaining in the game when Jeffrey Sullivan passed 16 yards to Wayne Peters. Carson is 1-0 in league and 5-0 overall. Crenshaw is 0-1 and 5-1.

Marshall 21, Verdugo Hills 20--Charles Edwards gained 233 yards in 23 carries and scored once, on a one-yard run, to pace the Marshall offense, but his biggest play came on defense when with 12 seconds remaining, he stopped Matt Fryer on the one-foot line to foil Verdugo Hills’ attempted two-point conversion. Vergudo Hills had drawn to within one point on a six-yard touchdown pass from Darren Fitzgerald to Fryer. Edwards finished the game with 132 yards and 3 touchdowns in 41 carries in the Northern League opener for both teams. Marshall is 2-3 and Verdugo Hills is 0-5.

Garfield 33, Narbonne 7--Quarterback Johnny Gomez completed 10 of 12 passes for 273 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Freeway League opener at Garfield. David Morales had touchdown receptions of 55 and 31 yards. Garfield, The Times’ No. 9-ranked team, is 5-0, and Narbonne is 0-5.