Banning Trounces Fairfax, 41-24

Sophomore fullback Derek Sparks barreled for 225 yards and 2 touchdowns on 19 carries and tailback Keith Mimms added 3 touchdown runs as Banning High overpowered Fairfax, 41-24, in a quarterfinal City section 4-A playoff game Thursday at Venice High’s Watson Field.

The contest between Metro league champion Fairfax (6-4) and Pacific league runner-up Banning (10-2) was so one-sided that Fairfax didn’t record its initial first down--which came on roughing the kicker penalty against Banning--until the final three minutes of the second quarter.

The Lions drove 80 yards and scored on Mario Mattison’s 1-yard plunge two seconds before intermission, but by then Banning had run off 34 points and looked to be easing up.

Banning and Fairfax coaches had agreed to leave the clock running in the second half, when Banning played mostly underclassmen.

Sparks did most of the damage on the ground, grinding out 158 yards in the first half on 17 carries. He gave the Pilots a 6-0 lead early in the first quarter on a 40-yard scamper.

Three series later, tailback Mimms capitalized on an interception by Troy Cain with a 35-yard scoring run and then finished off a Sparks-dominated drive with a touchdown run of 10 yards. Quarterback John Ma’ae then made it 28-0, hitting tight end Bryan Proby from 15 yards out.

Mimms scored again from the Lions 1 with 4:41 left in the half after Mattison fumbled on the Fairfax 21 and Banning’s Nizam Walter recovered.

Sparks plowed 62 yards for his second score late with 4:51 left in the third quarter.

Fairfax scored 3 second-half touchdowns on a 99-yard interception return by quarterback-cornerback Mark Ricks, a 1-yard sweep by Mattison and a 5-yard run by Craig Pringle.