Turnovers Power Quartz Hill Past St. Genevieve

The St. Genevieve High football team was cruising through its first drive, gobbling up yardage like a runaway Pac-Man.

First play, 11-yard run. Second play, four-yard run. Third play, 11 more yards on the ground.

“And we haven’t even thrown a pass yet,” one enthusiastic St. Genevieve player exclaimed.

If only St. Genevieve had passed on passing. Once the Valiants went to the air, no amount of quarters--or quarterbacks--could reignite their offense.

Quartz Hill intercepted quarterback Leo Cortez’s first two passes and rolled to a 34-0 nonleague victory Saturday night at Birmingham High in the season-opener for both teams.

“If we’re going to be a ball-control team, those turnovers kill us,” first-year St. Genevieve Coach Kevin Kane said.

Quartz Hill quarterback Marty Washington was equally lethal. Washington completed 8 of 19 passes for 132 yards and 3 touchdowns and rushed for another score.

“Washington is out of our league, literally and figuratively,” Kane said. “We had some fumbles and costly penalties, but the bottom line is Washington. If we could have kept the ball away from him, we might have had a chance.”

Instead, St. Genevieve turned the ball over six times, including on four of its first five possessions.

On the opening drive, St. Genevieve’s Chris Andrews, who rushed for 96 yards in 9 carries, fumbled on the Valiants’ 22-yard line. Washington followed six plays later with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Bort.

Two Cortez turnovers--an interception followed by a fumble on the first play of St. Genevieve’s next possession--led to two more scores, Washington’s 24-yard run and his 14-yard pass to Bort.

Cortez again fumbled on the Valiants’ first play of the second half and Quartz Hill took it in for the score. Washington ran for 7 yards in 2 carries and completed 2 passes for 22 yards, including a 14-yard scoring pass to Bort that gave the Rebels a 34-point lead.