Point Loma Uses Big Third Quarter to Eliminate Granite Hills, 41-13

The play happened with 4:42 left in the third quarter. Point Loma quarterback Danny White, at his 44-yard line, handed off to receiver Brett Callan.

Callan took a couple of steps, looked downfield, and threw a pass to Ron Evans, who caught it in stride and took it in for a 56-yard touchdown play.

For Point Loma, it was one of those nights. In fact, it was one of those quarters. The Pointers scored 20 third-quarter points Saturday night en route to a 41-13 San Diego Section 3-A quarterfinal win over Granite Hills at Valley Stadium.

When Callan passed the ball, Point Loma was ahead, 20-7, and in good shape. When Evans caught the ball, the Pointers were in great shape. They had a big lead and were loaded with confidence.

“The last two games we came out real flat,” Callan said. “Our main concern was to take care of that.”

Granite Hills managed just 6 offensive plays in the third quarter, including a punt.

Point Loma took the second-half kickoff and went 73 yards in 9 plays, taking a 20-7 lead when White hit Callan for a 19-yard touchdown pass.

Granite Hills ran 4 plays. Then Callan and Evans teamed for a touchdown pass. Point Loma’s Bob Simoneau slipped on the kickoff and squibbed the ball, but Point Loma recovered. Backup quarterback Lee Wiebleski went 12 yards for a touchdown, capping an 8-play, 63-yard drive.

The score was 34-7 and Point Loma (6-6, including 2 forfeit losses) had taken the second step toward defending its San Diego Section 3-A championship. The Pointers face undefeated Orange Glen next weekend.

Granite Hills finished 7-3-1.

“The kids were up tonight,” Point Loma Coach Bennie Edens said. “We’re a little quicker than they are. But they’ve got a tough defense, and we felt we had to pass.”

Three Pointers threw touchdown passes--White (2), Callan (1) and Wiebleski (1).

Point Loma stamped its mark on the game from the very beginning. On Granite Hills’ second offensive play, Point Loma’s Ron Lawson intercepted a Robert Howe pass. Four plays later, White passed 8 yards to Geoff Gledill for a touchdown.

Point Loma punted on its next possession and miscommunication between two Granite Hills receivers resulted in the referee ruling a fair catch, giving Granite Hills the ball at its own 2. The Point Loma defense held tight, forcing Granite Hills to punt, and the Pointers took the ball at the 50.

With 9:18 left in the second quarter, Ron Lawson twisted through the middle of the Granite Hills defense for a 21-yard touchdown run, making the score 14-0.

Granite Hills had a chance to cut that gap with a little more than 5 minutes left in the half, but 4 consecutive runs up the middle on first-and-goal from the Point Loma 7 netted 6 yards and gave the ball to Point Loma.