Leach Writes the Script in Granada Hills Win

Granada Hills High quarterback Jeremy Leach is known in high school football circles as a passer who, in terms of his right arm, is artistic, accurate and to some degree, articulate.

Leach, a 6-foot, 2-inch senior, leads all Valley City Section quarterbacks in passing. In musical terms, you could call what he does the Highlander Fling. He throws with the best of them.

Friday night in the first round of the City 4-A playoffs at Granada Hills, Leach completed 17 of 29 passes for 274 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Highlanders (7-3) defeated Crenshaw, 21-0.

Leach, it seems, can communicate off the field as well, however. Not only can he make his point pretty well through the airwaves, but he can write them down as well: The Dec. 4 issue of Highlander Highlights, the campus newspaper, features a story by one Jeremy Leach, sportswriter, prominently displayed in the middle of the sports page.

“I wrote that story, too,” he said pointing at another football story on the page. That story contained a mistake in the second paragraph--a lot like the Granada Hills win.

“The teacher put that one in there,” Leach said. “I had it right.”

Leach was an isolated hings right for the Highlanders, who will play Cleveland in the second round next week. Granada Hills was penalized for 145 yards, and Crenshaw chipped in with 118 penalty yards.

What’s worse, the game started 45 minutes late because the Crenshaw bus was caught in traffic. They never got things on track--the Cougars finished with just 89 yards in total offense.

Leach and his crew of receivers did click. Leach hooked up with wide receiver Kyle Jan for the first Granada Hills score, which came midway through the first quarter. Leach hit Jan from 20 yards out on a crossing pattern, with Jan beating Crenshaw’s Michael Williams and Roland Pete on the play.

Granada Hills took a 14-0 lead at the half when Leach connected with receiver Darryl Stephenson for a 21-yard touchdown with 4:06 left in the second quarter. The other Highlander wide receiver, Kyle Jan, had 7 receptions for 94 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Granada Hills scored again in the fourth quarter when Leach hit Jan on a sideline pattern from the one, the conversion giving the Highlanders a 21-0 lead.

The Highlander defense has allowed just nine points in the last three games, which includes two shutouts.

Tight end Sean Brown caugh six passes for 66 yards. Jamal Farmer rushed 11 times for 5 yards, 43 of which came in the first half.