New Granada Hills Model Grinds Out 21-0 Victory

The new and not-so-improved Granada Hills High offense was unveiled Friday afternoon at Roosevelt with as much anticipation and wide-eyed wonder as a new line of cars.

The verdict: It’s no Corvette, but it’s no Edsel, either.

Drives of the two-play, 75-yard variety will be rare this season. And the driver is not an All-City Section quarterback able to maneuver through defensive walls with the ease of an Andretti.

But at least the ’88 model still wins. Granada Hills defeated Roosevelt, 21-0, in a nonleague opener despite 76 yards in penalties and no play longer than 17 yards.

An offensive outing like this would have signaled major mechanical damage for last season’s City Section 4-A Division champion Highlanders, but this year’s squad can be happy that at least the machine moved.

“It’s going to take a lot,” Coach Darryl Stroh said. “We’ve just got to hope we get better each week.”

It’s not that the offense was terrible , it’s just that after two years of All-City quarterback Jeremy Leach and his 3,991 yards and 49 touchdowns, 137 yards passing is not that impressive.

“The running backs did a good job, but the passing attack still needs some work if we’re going to be competitive with some of the better teams,” offensive coordinator Tom Harp said.

Junior quarterback Chris Gadomski completed 15 of 26 passes for 137 yards. Many of his incompletions were inadvertent bounce passes and only four completions covered more than 11 yards.

“For my first game, I did fine. And as we progress, I’m sure I’ll know defenses better and do better,” Gadomski said.

Gadomski’s receivers also struggled. Several passes were dropped and a 12-yard reception was nullified by a penalty.

Granada Hills’ best drive came at the start of the fourth quarter, when Gadomski completed 4 of 7 passes for 46 yards in a 68-yard scoring drive that completed the Highlanders’ scoring. Gadomski hit Jermaine Love on a 12-yard down-and-out pattern in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown.

“If he had Kyle Jan, Sean Brown, Darryl Stephenson and some of the other receivers we had last season, Gadomski would look better,” Harp said. “He’s coming along.”

Marrio Walker scored Granada Hills’ other two touchdowns on runs of one and nine yards in the first half. And while the offense took its time grinding out yardage, the defense stuffed Roosevelt.

The Highlanders limited Roosevelt to 120 total yards, including minus-16 yards rushing. Quarterback Oscar Tavera completed 9 of 17 passes for 136 yards but was sacked 6 times for 43 yards.

Senior linebacker Sebastian Glaze and sophomore tackle Brett Washington spearheaded the Highlander defense, which allowed only three first downs and 41 yards in the first half.