Reseda Still Unbeaten as Wilkinson Sparkles

A running back dominated the Reseda-North Hollywood High game Friday night, as most people who follow the Pac 8 League expected.

He was dynamic. He led his team with three touchdowns, two on breakaway runs that had defenders grabbing at air. He was dominant.

But he wasn’t Chip Grant.

Instead, it was Reseda’s Ronald Wilkinson who excelled, leading the Regents to a 34-6 victory over North Hollywood at Reseda.

Reseda, playing for the first time this season, improved to 5-0 overall, 4-0 in the league. The Regents have won eight straight over two seasons. North Hollywood dropped to 3-3, 1-3.

“Aside from one back, he’s the best I’ve seen,” Reseda Coach Joel Schaeffer said in rating Wilkinson behind no other Valley back than Crespi’s Russell White.

As a junior last season, Wilkinson was an All-City running back who helped lead Reseda to the City 2-A title.

But this year, Wilkinson has been overshadowed by two other running backs in the Pac 8, Sylmar’s Jerome Casey and Grant, who entered the game as the leading rusher among Valley City schools.

Wilkinson returned to the limelight by rushing for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns on 12 carries. He also caught a 59-yard scoring pass to put to rest any notion that he may be the third-best back in the Pac.

“We heard a lot about Grant, and he’s a good little running back, but it’s like teasing a bulldog,” Schaeffer said.

Or two. In addition to motivating Wilkinson, Grant’s notoriety also motivated the Reseda defense.

Grant entered the game averaging more than 200 yards per game, but against the Regents he managed only 112 on 23 carries. Grant also was averaging more than three touchdowns per game but scored only once against Reseda.

“Our kids were really fired up for this,” Schaeffer said.

Linebackers Shawn Peet and David Wilson contained Grant, and cornerback Maurice Bell helped thwart North Hollywood’s passing game with two interceptions on the Huskies’ first three attempts. Both interceptions led to Reseda touchdowns.

Reseda scored on its first four possessions. Wilkinson ran for a 36-yard touchdown on the Regents’ first play of the game and scored six minutes later on a 59-yard screen pass from quarterback Coley Kyman to put Reseda ahead, 13-0.

Kyman connected with wide receiver Sam Edwards on a 41-yard post pattern to put Reseda up, 20-0, at the end of the first quarter.

Running back James Swindell caught a 32-yard pass from Kyman on Reseda’s first possession of the second quarter, and the Regent lead was 27-0. Grant scored on a two-yard run just before intermission but the extra-point kick by Chris Thomas was wide right and North Hollywood trailed, 27-6, at the half.

Wilkinson started the second half the same way he did the first, with a long scoring run on Reseda’s first play. This time it was from 66 yards out and it completed the game’s scoring.

Kyman rebounded from a poor outing against Sylmar last week to post one of his strongest performances of the season. The 6-foot-5 junior passed for touchdowns on his first three attempts, a marked contrast to his numbers against Sylmar: 0-for-7 with two interceptions.