Santa Monica Crushes Leuzinger and Wins the Bay League Crown

The worst fears of Leuzinger High football Coach Steve Carnes became a disappointing reality Thursday night in the second half of his team’s Bay League title showdown with Santa Monica.

Bigger, stronger Santa Monica simply overpowered the Olympians--scoring touchdowns on 5 of its 7 second-half possessions--en route to a 41-28 win.

Senior tailback Mark Harper, running behind the Vikings’ physical line, carried the ball 34 times for 228 yards and 5 touchdowns, including a 77-yard scoring jaunt with 7 minutes left that made it 35-21 and appeared to take the steam out of Leuzinger.

“We brought everybody up we possibly could (on defense), but we couldn’t stop them,” Carnes said. “They just wore us out.”

Santa Monica, which finished with 350 yards rushing, celebrated its third straight league title, improving to 7-2 overall and 6-1 in league play. The Vikings will open the CIF Division II playoffs with a home game next week.

Leuzinger (8-1-1, 5-1-1) ended in a second-place tie with Hawthorne but will enter the playoffs as the Bay League’s No. 2 team because it won a coin flip with the Cougars before the game and, coincidentally, lost by the same score to Santa Monica as Hawthorne did.

While the game eventually got away from the Olympians, they held the upper hand early.

Leuzinger took a 14-7 lead in the second quarter when fullback Tim Camilo scored on a 1-yard run, capping a 79-yard drive, and sophomore Marvin Johnson recovered a blocked punt by teammate Andre English in the end zone. The two touchdowns came within 3 minutes.

The Olympians had a chance to add to the lead just before half time after Johnson recovered a fumble by Harper at the Santa Monica 22. But they could only get to the 19, and Angel Andrade’s 36-yard field goal attempt was wide.

Santa Monica turned the momentum in its favor on the first possession of the second half, driving 75 yards on 7 plays to score on a 5-yard run by Harper over the left side anchored by guard Kevin Kelly (6-3, 254) and tackle Dan Wagner (6-4, 230). The Vikings added a 2-point conversion when quarterback Steve Macko fumbled into the end zone and Todd Kusserow, son of Santa Monica Coach Tebb Kusserow, recovered.

That made it 15-14 and put Santa Monica ahead for good.

Harper added a 2-yard scoring run later in the third quarter, set up by a 32-yard pass from Macko to fullback Damian Lunetta, and then made it 28-14 early in the fourth quarter on a 17-yard run.

Lunetta, who had a big second half, finished with 96 yards on 10 carries and two receptions for 56 yards. He scored on a 50-yard run with 5:47 left, capping a streak in which the Vikings scored touchdowns on three straight plays from scrimmage.

Leuzinger’s only touchdowns of the second half came on a 74-yard pass from quarterback Zak Odom to wide receiver Quang Banks and a 5-yard run by Odom. Both scores came in the final 8 minutes.

Redondo 27, Mira Costa 22--In the annual beach cities rivalry, this year Redondo built a 21-0 half-time lead at Mira Costa, then withstood a Mira Costa comeback to clinch a spot in the CIF Division VII playoffs. Redondo improved to 5-5 overall and 5-2 in the Ocean League. Mira Costa finished at 1-9 and 1-6.

Morningside 10, Centennial 6--In a defense-dominated game in Compton, the Monarchs scored in the first quarter on a pass from Ernesto Carmicle to Shannon Thompson, then added a 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter by Jose Fregoso to put the game away. Centennial scored only on an interception and a penalty that moved the Apaches inside the Morningside 10-yard line. With lineman Terrell Edwards recording eight tackles and two sacks, Centennial never threatened again. Morningside completed a 7-0 season in the Ocean League, and is 7-2 overall going into playoffs. Centennial finished at 2-5 in the league.

West Torrance 10, Culver City 6--On a damp field at West High, the Warriors salvaged some pride and broke a four-game losing streak in a defensive struggle. Matt Vincent scored on a fumble recovery in the end zone to get West on the scoreboard early in the first quarter, and Tom Dallen added a 40-yard field goal in the third period. Centaurs quarterback David Dolce accounted for the Culver points with a 1-yard run. West High finished the season at 4-6 overall and 3-4 in the Ocean League. Culver was 2-8 and 0-7.

Hawthorne 43, Inglewood 0--Hawthorne goes to the playoffs as the Ocean League’s No. 3 entry despite tying Leuzinger at 5-1-1 in the league. Inglewood went winless in the season at 0-9 overall and 0-7 in league play. Quarterback Curtis Conway scored on a 49-yard run in the first quarter at Hawthorne and later threw for two more scores. He hit 5 of 10 passes for 84 yards and ran 6 times for 86. Armando Fernandez rushed 3 times for 93 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown, and Ron Boldon 9 times for 93 for the Cougars (7-2-1 overall). Conway also had an interception on defense.

Westchester 15, University 14--In a Western League game, the home team Comets clinched the league title and a City 3-A playoff spot behind running back Tim Holiday’s two fourth-quarter touchdowns and Damion Smith’s 2-point conversion run. University had taken the lead with touchdowns in the second and third quarters. Holiday rushed for 45 yards on the night.

Mary Star 35, Pater Noster 0--Mary Star (6-4, 5-2) clinched third place in the Santa Fe League and earned a spot in the CIF Division III playoffs by defeating Pater Noster, 35-0, at Daniels Field on Thursday.

Billy Brock had three interceptions for the Stars, one for a touchdown, and senior tight end Steve Barker caught a 20-yard touchdown pass.

The Stars limited Pater Noster (0-7 in league) to 50 yards on the ground.

Washington 36, Narbonne 0--The Gauchos suffered through their second straight winless season and lost their 22nd straight game Thursday as host Washington cemented its Pacific League title. The Gauchos, 0-10 overall and 0-3 in league, threatened twice in the first half and were down only 8-0 at half time. But Washington scored three times in the third quarter to pull away. Washington will take a 6-4 record into the City 3-A playoffs.

Beverly Hills 28, Torrance 0--Beverly Hills (4-3, 7-3 overall) secured fourth place in the Bay League after shutting out Torrance (2-8, 1-6) at Torrance.

The Normans had an 18-point lead at half time and scored again in the third quarter when Rafael Fernandez kicked a 35-yard field goal. Beverly Hills scored again in the fourth quarter on a 6-yard run by Danny Edwards.

The victory will probably lead to an at-large berth in the CIF Division II playoffs.