Roundup : Showtime for Owens, Mira Mesa in 20-7 Victory

He was No. 34 in the program and No. 1 on the field Friday night during ninth-ranked Mira Mesa’s 20-7 victory over visiting Crawford.

Introducing the Klaus Owens Highlight Film:

--Five quarterback sacks.

--One fumble recovery.

--One touchdown run.

Owens went all the way at outside linebacker and part of the way at fullback. Almost every which way imagineable.

“Klaus is a hell of a football player,” said Brad Griffith, Mira Mesa’s coach.

No kidding.

Last year, Owens was just a fullback. This year, the 5-foot 11-inch, 190-pound junior is playing linebacker for the first time.

“They said they needed somebody to play linebacker this year, so I said ‘I’ll play it,’ ” Owens said. “It’s fun.”

It got to be fun for Mira Mesa in the third quarter, when it broke a 7-7 tie after recovering a fumbled punt at the Crawford 45. Wayne Pittman scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard plunge.

Then, on the first play after the kickoff, Owens recovered another Crawford fumble at the Crawford 25. Mira Mesa missed a 26-yard field goal, Steve Hamaguchi got the ball back with an interception four plays later to set up another 1-yard Pittman plunge.

“Pittman is an excellent fullback,” said Ed Shoen, Mira Mesa’s defensive coordinator. “So we knew we had to move either him or Klaus, because they can’t both play fullback and they’re both so good they can’t be on the bench.”

Mira Mesa (5-0) and Crawford (2-3) exchanged first half touchdowns. Crawford scored in the first quarter when Jeff Thrift dived 3 yards to cap a 52-yard drive.

Mira Mesa tied the game in the second quarter when Owens broke through the line for a 7-yard touchdown.

For Owens, it was a case of finishing what he started. His 12-yard sack of Crawford quarterback Chris Townsend on the preceding series pushed the Colts back to their own 4. On the next play, Crawford punted and Mira Mesa started its touchdown drive at the Crawford 33.

Avocado League

Rancho Buena Vista 31, San Marcos 6--Scott Garcia rushed for 207 yards in 23 carries and scored 3 touchdowns and running mate O.J. Hall had 181 yards rushing in 21 carries and scored once for host Rancho Buena Vista (5-0). Garcia, the county’s second-leading rusher and top scorer, scored on runs of 2, 1 and 10 yards. San Marcos is 0-5.

San Pasqual 30, El Camino 20--Running back Tony Medina scored on runs of 3 and 6 yards and kicked a 28-yard field goal to lead visiting San Pasqual (4-1, 2-0). San Pasqual quarterback Andy Loveland completed 5-of-10 passes for 188 yards. El Camino quarterback Eric Robinson led all rushers with 83 yards on 16 carries and completed 7 of 15 passes for 130 yards. El Camino is 4-1, 1-1.

3-A Grossmont League

Helix 9, El Capitan 7--Jason Ledford kicked three field goals to lead eighth-ranked Helix (4-1, 1-0) at El Capitan (2-3, 0-1).

Metro Conference

Southwest 43, Castle Park 19--Southwest running back Hubert Phillips led the Raiders (4-1, 2-0) to their fourth straight win. Phillips rushed 18 times for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns and scored on a 71-yard pass play from quarterback Richard Delano. Jason Silva was Southwest’s second leading rusher with 109 yards on 7 carries and 2 touchdown runs of 34 yards. Delano completed 9 of 17 passes for 228 yards. Southwest’s Will Tate returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown just 13 seconds into the game. Castle Park is 0-5, 0-2.

Hilltop 24, Mar Vista 20--Chad Boyd completed 20 of 32 passes for 204 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead visiting Hilltop (2-3, 0-1). John Barone added 87 yards on 6 carries. Mark Dearing had 90 yards on 14 carries for Mar Vista (2-3, 0-1).

Chula Vista 25, Sweetwater 6--John Krupp rushed 14 times for 92 yards and scored on 8 and 11-yard runs to lead Chula Vista (2-3, 2-0). Chula Vista’s Jeff Doe scored on a 95-yard kickoff return and on a 13-yard run. Tana Lepule caught a 8-yard pass from quarterback David Gregorio to keep Sweetwater (1-4, 1-1) from being shut out.

Palomar League

Fallbrook 14, Vista 13--Vista finally scored after being shutout four straight times, but it wasn’t enough to win at Fallbrook. Marcus Coffer scored on a 3-yard run in the first quarter to give Vista (0-5, 0-2) a 7-0 lead. Kelly Fieux threw touchdown passes of 23 yards to Marco Souther and 31 yards to Robert Montoy to give Fallbrook (2-3, 1-1) a 14-7 lead in the fourth quarter. Ryan Tamburrino scored on a 6-yard run to pull Vista within 14-13 with 5:15 left, but a two-point conversion try failed.

Nonleague

Capistrano Valley 17, Point Loma 8--Ron Lawson rushed for 94 yards on 22 carries and scored a late touchdown for Point Loma, but Capistrano held on after taking a 17-0 first half lead.

La Jolla 16, Monte Vista 10--The two teams combined for 12 turnovers and 19 penalties totaling 160 yards. La Jolla (5-0) took advantage of eight turnovers, including six interceptions. Mike Wollaeger kicked a 35-yard field goal and had three interceptions to lead La Jolla. Ernie Reyes caught 5 passes for 102 yards and 1 touchdown to lead Monte Vista (1-4).

Patrick Henry 22, Hoover 8--Derrick Deadwiler scored on a 20-yard pass and 28-yard run to lead Patrick Henry (4-1) at Hoover. Kahlil Short scored on a 10-yard run to give Henry a 7-0 lead. Hoover (2-3) took the lead on a 3-yard run by John Akridge and a run for the two-point conversion by Jermaine Odom in the second quarter. Deadwiler, however, scored both his touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Mt. Miguel 20, Santana 14--Steve Lindley threw three touchdown passes for Mt. Miguel (4-1) and Santana (2-3) had a touchdown and a field goal nullified by penalties.

Granite Hills 28, Valhalla 14--Brian Giles, the county’s No. 4 rusher, gained 174 yards in 22 carries and scored on runs of 7, 2 and 68 yards for host Granite Hills (3-2). Valhalla (2-3) tied the score, 14-14, on a 6-yard run by Jason Peltier early in the fourth quarter. However, Giles scored his second touchdown with 4 minutes to play to break the tie. Giles’ final score came with 1:08 to play after an interception by David Justus.

Mission Bay 7, St. Augustine 6--Pat Betancourt rushed 8 times for 73 yards and Greg Enrique scored midway through the fourth quarter to lead host Mission Bay (3-2). The Buccaneers blocked a field goal attempt by Reuben Fontes as time expired to preserve the victory. Mission Bay’s Brian Miranda completed 6 of 12 passes for 84 yards, but threw 3 interceptions. St. Augustine is now 1-4.

University City 30, Serra 20--Darnes Taylor rushed 28 times for 164 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead visiting University City (2-2). Serra (2-3) took a 14-0 lead on a 12-yard run by Derrick Evans and a 70-yard touchdown pass play from Tom Conter to Joe Delfin. Anthony Hill threw touchdown passes of 7 and 32 yards to Steve Calvao for University City.

Kearny 35, San Diego 6--Kearny broke a 6-6 tied with 29 points in the fourth quarter. Tosh Huguley scored on runs of 21, 14 and 1 yards and Ovean Moore scored on runs of 3 and 16 yards for Kearny (2-3). San Diego is 0-4-1.

Marian 20, Coronado 6--Teo Rosales scored on runs of 25 and 8 yards to lead Marian (2-2-1) to its first victory in three years over Coronado (2-3). Leo Ortiz added a 1-yard touchdown run as Marian led 20-0.