HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES : City 4-A : Carson Routs Banning, 55-7

In recent years in the Carson-Banning high school football rivalry, the team that lost the regular-season matchup has won when they met in the City 4-A Division championship game.

So much for trends.

Carson, which defeated Banning, 24-13, 4 weeks ago, did it again in convincing fashion with a 55-7 victory Friday night before a crowd of 12,000 at the Coliseum.

It was the most lopsided win in a large-school final since Fremont routed Hollywood, 49-0, in 1949. The Colts dominated the Pilots, outgaining them, 515-190, in total yards.

Carson (12-1), which scored on its first 7 possessions, needed punter Tariel Hopper only once, early in the fourth quarter.

The Colts received fine performances in all areas, with quarterback Perry Klein, running back Errol Sapp and wide receiver Michael Ross leading the way.

Carson, the Pacific League champion, holds a 19-16 edge in the series with Banning, having won the last 4 meetings.

“I thought we dominated them the last time we played,” said Carson Coach Gene Vollnogle, who has won 7 City titles at Carson and 2 at Banning.

“Their coaches said we were lucky. That really fired us up for this game,” he added.

Klein, who had completed 70% of his passes going into the game, completed 13 of 15 passes for 173 yards while alternating with Fred Gatlin.

On the Colts’ first drive, Klein completed all 3 of his passes, highlighted by his 57-yard crossing pattern completion to Ross.

Sapp, who ran for 98 yards in 10 carries and scored 3 touchdowns, capped the drive with a 12-yard scoring run.

Sapp scored again on the Colts’ next possession, a 3-yard run on which he took an inside handoff from Gatlin and bounced outside, outsprinting Banning defenders to the corner of the end zone.

Klein passed 9 yards to Ross for the Colts’ third touchdown.

Sapp scored again on Carson’s fourth possession, on another 3-yard run. The big play in this drive was Marquis Owens’ 54-yard catch and run on a pass from Gatlin.

Carson finished its first-half scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run by Larry Billoups.

Carson’s speed was too much for Banning (9-3) as Colt runners blasted out from the line of scrimmage for numerous long gains.

Carson started the second half the way it ended the first. It scored the first two times it has the ball, on a 3-yard run by Armin Youngblood and a 9-yard pass from Klein to Ross, who finished with 5 catches for 106 yards with 2 touchdowns.

Banning quarterback John Ma’ae, who played with an injured ankle in the teams’ first meeting, was pressured by Colt defenders the entire game. Ma’ae completed 8 of 17 passes for only 54 yards and was sacked 6 times.

Carson added another touchdown late in the fourth quarter, when defensive back Tim Lincoln stole the ball from Ma’ae’s hands and ran in 74 yards for a touchdown to make the score 55-0.

Banning finally scored with less than 3 minutes left in the game on a 2-yard sneak by Ma’ae. The touchdown was set up by sophomore fullback Derek Sparks’ 41-yard run.

The Colt defense, led by linebackers Jeffrey Leiato, Peter Hunt and Todd Auvaa, completely shut down Banning’s running attack.

Until Sparks’ run, the Colts had limited the Pilots’ two 1,000-yard rushers, Sparks and halfback Keith Mims, to fewer than 50 yards combined.