Glendale KOs Punchless Compton, 42-7 : Vaqueros’ Bender Delivers Biggest Blows With 3 Scoring Runs

Lalo Mendoza had no grand illusions when he took over the Compton College football program last summer after coaching for 23 years at Verbum Dei High.

So when the Tartars began the season with three consecutive losses, Mendoza wasn’t surprised.

“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Mendoza said earlier this week. “Actually, it wasn’t even going to be a battle because there was nothing to fight with.”

That rang true Saturday when Compton played host to Glendale in a Western State Conference game. Glendale rolled to a 42-7 victory to improve its record to 2-1-1 overall, 2-0-1 in the conference. Compton remains winless at 0-4, 0-3.

“If we don’t beat them like this--if we had made it close--then something is wrong,” Glendale Coach John Cicuto said. “But they do have some players capable of doing big things, so I was happy with our effort.”

Compton did score a moral victory when quarterback Kojuan Williams completed a 60-yard touchdown pass to Richard Berry with 14:42 left in the first half.

The touchdown marked the first points scored by the Tartars since their opener against San Bernardino. Compton entered Saturday’s game coming off consecutive shutouts by Santa Barbara (36-0) and Moorpark (55-0).

“We’ve got a young team and we’re still learning,” said Terrence Adams, who plays quarterback and also returns kickoffs for Compton. “We’re improving, but Glendale came in today and got a good all-around game from its whole team.”

Glendale, which produced 408 yards of offense, was led by fullback Wes Bender, who rushed for a game-high 64 yards in nine carries and scored three touchdowns.

Bender, a 5-foot-10, 222-pound freshman from Burroughs High, scored on runs of 11, 12 and two yards. It was the second consecutive productive game for Bender, who scored two touchdowns last week in a 43-15 win over Pierce.

“We’ve got two super running backs in Sean (Hampton) and Doug (Dragomer),” Cicuto said. “Now, with Wes running the way he is, the defense can’t key on those other guys.”

The continuing improved play of quarterbacks Darren Fitzgerald and Ronnie Lopez also has boosted the Vaqueros, who lost their opener to Pasadena and tied Bakersfield before gaining their first victory against Pierce.

Fitzgerald completed six of 11 passes for 91 yards against Compton, and Lopez completed six of six for 78 yards, including an eight-yard touchdown pass to Pat Lynch in the third quarter.

Glendale’s defense was also impressive, limiting Compton to nine yards rushing and 120 yards of total offense.

The Vaqueros forced four turnovers and were led by freshman linebacker Aaron Blanche, who repeatedly blitzed his way into the Tartar backfield. Glendale also got another standout performance from its young secondary, which kept its composure in the face of what amounted to a broken-play offense by Compton.

Hampton ran the ball in from two yards to cap a 41-yard, seven-play drive on Glendale’s first possession. After defensive back Sheamus Martin recovered a Compton fumble, Dragomer scored on a 12-yard run with 4:30 left in the first quarter.

Compton pulled to within, 14-7, on the pass from Williams to Albert, but the Tartars didn’t come close to sniffing the end zone the rest of the way.