Granada Hills Surprises Kennedy, 20-0

Statistically, the game had the best pair of Valley-area City Section running backs, the best pair of quarterbacks, the top two receivers and the top two point-producers.

Buy a new battery for that calculator, this seemed destined to be one for the books. Bone up on the math. The sum would be something.

Added together, though, it equaled a game in which a special-teams play was the back breaker.

Granada Hills High quarterback Bryan Martin threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Stewart as the Highlanders defeated rival Kennedy, 20-0, in a Northwest Valley Conference opener Friday night at Kennedy.

With Granada Hills leading, 7-0, in the fourth quarter, Martin settled back into punt formation. He made eye contact with Stewart, who had lined up on the left flank, where Kennedy had left him uncovered.

“It’s just an automatic,” said Martin, who completed eight of 15 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns. “I noticed on the first couple of punts they took their time getting out there on him.”

Martin never knew how much time he had. In actuality, Kennedy had just 10 men on the field--junior Ronnie Gipson was standing on the sideline instead of covering Stewart.

Stewart collected Martin’s lob and sprinted down the sideline, easily beating Frank Conley to the end zone for a 13-0 lead with 10 minutes 46 seconds left.

“It was a tough night for Gipson,” Kennedy assistant Tom Sams said. “I thought we played pretty good except for three plays.”

You guessed it--Granada Hills (3-1, 1-0 in league play) scored on each of them.

Granada Hills fullback Brett Washington scored on a 19-yard run with 2:17 left to give the Highlanders a 20-0 lead. The touchdown also gave Washington the school career scoring mark of 192 points, surpassing the 187 points set by Greg Fowble in 1984-85.

The Highlanders held Kennedy running back Ontiwaun Carter to just 81 yards in 24 carries. It marked the third time in as many seasons that Granada Hills has shut down Kennedy (3-1, 0-1) with Carter in the backfield.

A pair of promising-looking Kennedy drives bogged down in the first half. On the Golden Cougars’ second possession, Carter carried 12 times in a 13-play drive that stalled at the Granada Hills 24.

On a fourth-and-18 play, Kennedy lined up for a 42-yard field goal, but holder Tavarus Logie--also the team’s backup quarterback--pitched a shovel pass to Jimmy Rodriguez, who was hammered for no gain.

On the next play, Highlander tailback Stewart broke down the left sideline for a 43-yard gain. Six plays later, with 4:23 left in the half, Martin hit tight end Kyron Motton in the left corner of the end zone from 13 yards. Motton, who made an acrobatic catch while spinning to his right and falling over backward, beat Gipson.

It marked the first points the Golden Cougar defense had allowed this season. Kennedy had outscored its first three opponents, 106-2.

Kennedy again failed to score on its ensuing possession despite driving to the Granada Hills 15-yard line, primarily behind quarterback Mike McMullen’s completions of 19, 14 and seven yards to receiver Keith West.