Friday’s Games : Foster’s Running Helps L.A. Win

Since Los Angeles High School’s Monsenior Foster carried the ball only three times last week in a 7-7 tie with Washington, the junior tailback didn’t figure to play a prominent role in Friday’s City nonleague game against Jordan.

But Foster surprised Jordan--and his own coach--by rushing for 98 yards and 1 touchdown in 10 carries to help lead the Romans to a 28-13 victory over the Bulldogs at Los Angeles High.

Foster gained 15 yards in his first carry and 16 in his second, so Los Angeles Coach John Watson decided to let him have the ball again. On his next carry, Foster took a pitch from quarterback Tim Gardner, broke a couple of tackles and scored on a 37-yard run to give the Romans a 7-0 lead at 8:39 of the second quarter.

“We kind of sprung him on Jordan,” Watson said of Foster. “They didn’t know how to react.”

Until then, Jordan, coming off a season-opening 48-7 victory over Moorpark, had been concentrating on stopping Gardner. But with Foster to worry about, Jordan’s pass defense became less aggressive, and Gardner exploited the situation.

Gardner completed his first five passes of the second half and sparked a 56-yard, 7-play scoring drive midway through the third quarter. Gardner completed a 14-yard pass to Darnell Gray and a 17-yard pass to Lee Holman, helping move the ball to the Jordan 10.

From there, on third-down, Gardner threw to Gray for a touchdown to give Los Angeles a 14-0 lead.

Jordan moved the ball effectively all day but had problems after moving into Los Angeles territory in the first half.

On the Bulldogs’ first possession, they moved from their 11 to the Jordan 7. Two penalties and two incomplete passes left Jordan with a fourth down at the 17, and Jose Gonzales missed a 34-yard field goal attempt.

Ivin Jasper’s interception of Gardner early in the second quarter gave Jordan the ball at Los Angeles’ 37. A holding penalty stalled the drive, and Gonzales missed a 40-yard field goal try.

Jordan finally scored with 1:36 left in the third quarter when quarterback Jasper scored on a 10-yard run that capped a 65-yard, 8-play drive that cut the Romans’ lead to 14-7.

Jasper, who completed 6 of 15 passes for 97 yards and rushed for 117 yards and 1 touchdowns in 11 carries, wasn’t as productive punting. A 17-yard kick off the side of his foot gave Los Angeles the ball at the Jordan 28 early in the final quarter, and the Romans went on to score and put the game out of reach.

Gardner’s second scoring pass, another 10-yarder to Gray, made it 21-7. Gardner completed 14 of 24 passes for 167 yards.