Highlander Bombs Find the Range

Each game, in honor of former student Ritchie Valens, the sombrero-clad San Fernando High band strikes up a saucy rendition of one of the popular songs written three decades ago by the late rock star.

Earlier this year, Valens was remembered in a movie called “La Bamba,” which also happens to be the name of his most famous hit, the one the San Fernando band belts out at each halftime show.

On Friday night against Granada Hills, however, it was another kind of bomba that stole the show as quarterbacks Jeremy Leach of Granada Hills and Joe Mauldin of San Fernando hooked up in a battle of the airwaves that featured five touchdown passes, four of which were of 20 yards or longer.

By the time it was all over, Granada Hills moved to the top of the Valley 4-A League charts with a 35-20 win at San Fernando.

The Highlanders improved to 4-3 overall, 2-0 in league play. San Fernando fell to 5-1-1, 1-1-1.

Leach and Mauldin entered the game ranked 1-2 among Valley City Section passers, and it didn’t take long to see why Leach is No. 1 with a bullet.

The 6-foot, 2-inch senior showed off his cannon early and often. He finished by throwing for 159 yards and two touchdowns.

Mauldin (6-2, 195) matched him stride for stride in the statistics department, passing for 217 yards and three touchdowns.

Mauldin’s stride, among other things, even impressed his opposite number.

“That guy has the best feet I’ve ever seen,” Leach said. “He’s great, he has a great arm, he runs well. I’m just glad we beat them.”

It was Mauldin’s only passing mistake of the night, however, that decided the outcome.

With San Fernando trailing, 21-20, in the third quarter, a Mauldin pass was intercepted at the Tiger 36 by Kevin Carmichael.

Two plays later, Leach hit tight end Sean Brown on a 20-yard scoring pass. Brown outjumped defender Brent Huff for a 28-20 lead.

“That was a killer,” San Fernando Coach Tom Hernandez said of the interception. “The momentum had swung over to our favor. Joe threw the right pass, the receiver just ran the wrong route.”

Granada Hills scored again with 7:31 left on a bootleg scramble by Leach on a fourth-and-nine play from the San Fernando 10.

The sight of Leach calling his own number caught San Fernando off guard, but the success of senior running back Jamal Farmer was more of a surprise.

Farmer finished with 113 yards on 20 carries, with scoring runs of 9 and 17 yards.

What made his performance even sweeter was the fact that the senior attended San Fernando until the 10th grade, when he bolted for Granada Hills.

“That’s the best I’ve ever seen him run,” Leach said. “I didn’t know he had it in him.”

Farmer admitted that the game was easily the best of the season. It was his third 100-yard effort.

“It was,” he said with a smile. “This one was the best yet.”

Granada Hills looked primed to make it a blowout early, thanks to some sloppy Tiger ball-handling on the equally sloppy field.

The Highlanders took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when Farmer broke one up the middle for a nine-yard scoring run. Granada Hills had taken possession on the Tiger 25 when Brown recovered a Mauldin fumble on a punt return.

Granada Hills made it 14-0 when Farmer scored on a similar play. The 5-11, 200-pound halfback scored from 17 yards out with seven seconds left in the first quarter.

Mauldin atoned for his mistake in the second quarter, however, by throwing a pair of 21-yard scoring strikes. San Fernando pulled to within 14-6 when Mauldin hit Tommy Howard, who juked Highlander safety Charlie Fowlks and cruised into the end zone.

Mauldin connected with Sean Williams with 29 seconds left in the half. Williams beat a trio of Highlander defenders, including Brown and Kyle Jan.

Mauldin’s three-yard scamper after a nice fake up the middle to Danny Leos on the conversion pulled the Tigers to within 21-14.

G--Farmer 9 run (Fowlks kick)

G--Farmer 17 run (Fowlks kick)

S--Howard 21 pass from Mauldin (kick failed)

G--Brown 15 pass from Leach (Fowlks kick)

S--Williams 21 pass from Mauldin (Mauldin run)

S--Leos 27 pass from Mauldin (kick blocked)

G--Brown 20 pass from Leach (Fowlks kick)

G--Leach 10 run (Fowlks kick)