High Schools : Johnson and Turner Carry Crawford

With quarterback Chris Johnson calling the signals, Crawford is 5-0. Without him, the Colts are 0-3 on the field (they gained a forfeit victory over Point Loma after losing, 43-3).

Johnson played quarterback Saturday night against Christian in a City Central League game at Granite Hills. And Crawford won, 35-21.

“He’s our big play guy, and we win with him,” Crawford Coach Dan Armstrong said. “He didn’t throw as well tonight as he has been, but his running was definitely a factor. He’s very mobile back there.”

Leading, 21-14, in the third quarter, Crawford had third and goal at the Christian 9. Johnson dropped back to pass and was about to be sacked by two Christian defenders, but he was then quickly gone, up the middle and into the end zone.

That made it 28-14, and Christian (6-3, 2-1) never threatened again.

With defenses concentrating on Johnson, running back Eric Turner has been pounding them. Last week, Turner had 122 yards. Against Christian, he carried 24 times for 205 yards and 3 touchdowns.

“I’ll tell you why,” Armstrong said. “Raymond Thompson (6-feet 2-inches, 239 pounds) is the best offensive lineman in the county. Our whole game plan was to run behind him. I’ll take him over any other lineman.

“I’ve been saying all along that when we’re healthy, we’re in contention with any other 2-A team around.”

The Colts will get a chance to prove that next week when Crawford (6-2, 3-0) plays Lincoln (7-1, 3-0) in a game for the Central League championship.

Christian came into the game No. 1 in the county in defense, having allowed just 7.9 points per game, but Crawford quickly began inflating that statistic in the first quarter.

Turner scored on runs of 23 and 13 yards on the Colts’ first 2 possessions to give Crawford a 13-0 lead after just 8 minutes.

Christian then rallied to take the lead, 14-13, on David Jeremiah’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Bo Sutherland and his 1-yard quarterback sneak.

Then it was Turner’s turn again. On a third and 7 from the Colt 38, he ran up the middle, found daylight, headed for the sideline and raced 62 yards to the end zone. A Johnson-to-James Gordon 2-point conversion gave Crawford a 21-14 lead at the half.

Injured player expected to be OK: Peter Guerrero, a Mission Bay High School football player who sustained a slight contusion of the spinal column in a game Friday at Mesa College, will likely be released from Sharp Memorial Hospital today or Monday, a hospital spokesman said Saturday.

According to the spokesman, Guerrero appeared not to have suffered any permanent injuries and was scheduled to be moved out of the critical care unit Saturday night.

Dennis Pugh, Mission Bay’s coach, said Guerrero, a 5-foot 7-inch, 150-pound senior, was injured on the opening kickoff of the second half when he lowered his head to block a player “at least 50 pounds heavier.”

Don Patterson contributed to this report.