COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROUNDUP : El Camino’s Daigle Scores Four Touchdowns in 51-47 Win

Rancho Santiago had the state’s best running back and top scorer going into Saturday’s Mission Conference game against El Camino at Murdock Stadium, but the Warriors’ Anthony Daigle outplayed Estrus Crayton, an All-American for the Dons, in El Camino’s 51-47 victory.

Daigle, a freshman back who transferred from Arizona State, scored four touchdowns and gained 199 yards on 30 carries. Crayton finished with 174 yards on 24 carries and scored two touchdowns.

El Camino, ranked No. 2 in the state, improved to 4-0 and 2-0 in conference play. Seventh-ranked Rancho Santiago fell to 2-1 and 1-1.

Quarterback Rod Harvey started slowly, but opened the second half with nine consecutive completions. He finished with 21 completions in 34 attempts for 303 yards and two touchdowns.

His 50-yard pass to Calbert Johnson set up Daigle’s first touchdown, a 12-yard run, with 7:51 left in the first quarter.

A field goal by Rancho’s Tim Hatcher cut the Warriors’ lead to 7-3, but Daigle scored on a three-yard run for a 14-3 lead.

Rancho opened the second quarter with an eight-play, 63-yard drive that ended with a 16-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Rich Fanti to Trent Julian.

Louis Perez kicked a 32-yard field goal, but the Dons got a 19-yard touchdown pass from Fanti to Danny Hooker to cut El Camino’s lead to 24-17 at the half.

Daigle scored on a 15-yard run, but Hatcher’s field goal cut the lead to 31-20. Daigle’s one-yard run gave the Warriors a 37-20 edge with 2:32 left in the third quarter.

Rancho Santiago cut the lead to 10 with a 55-yard touchdown pass from Fanti to Eric McKay, but Mark Harper scored El Camino’s next touchdown for a 44-27 lead. Crayton then returned a punt 95 yards for a touchdown.

Harvey connected with Marquis Owens for an eight-yard touchdown pass with 9:29 left, giving El Camino a 51-33 edge, but Crayton returned another punt 75 yards for another touchdown.

Glendale 21, L.A. Southwest College 12--Southwest had two scoring opportunities in the second half, but fell victim to dropped passes, poor line play and penalties in a Western State Conference game.

“We had our opportunities to win this football game,” Southwest Coach Henry Washington said. “We’re coming around slowly.”

The Vaqueros were 0-2 entering the game, but their losses had come against two nationally ranked teams, including No. 1 Bakersfield.

Running back Bobby Webster finished with 128 yards on 30 carries and scored two touchdowns. Wes Bender gained 104 yards on 19 carries and quarterback Marco Arcipreste, who completed only four of 10 passes for 57 yards, had a 23-yard scoring pass to Cotie McMahon.

Southwest (1-2) countered with the passing of Craig Manigo, who completed 12 of 24 attempts for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Both of the scoring passes were to Robert Avery, who had three receptions for 74 yards.