HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ROUNDUP : Turnovers Cost Verdugo Hills in 7-6 Defeat

Verdugo Hills High Coach Charley Mack watched the Dons fumble away his chance to come out on top against his alma mater Marshall and mentor Ken Gerard on Saturday.

Verdugo Hills committed five turnovers--three of them fumbles--as the Barristers prevailed, 7-6, in a Northern Conference game at Marshall.

Quarterback Richard Gomez’s one-yard touchdown run and Mauricio Pena’s extra point in the third quarter helped Marshall beat Mack in his second year as Verdugo Hills’ head coach. The Barristers improved to 2-3, 1-1 in conference play.

“I thought we had them. . . . but we made a couple mistakes,” said Mack, who played nose guard and was an assistant coach for Gerard at Marshall. “We fumbled on the second drive and again in the second half. If we get those back, who knows. We could have had a 21-0 lead.”

Scoring has been a problem for Verdugo Hills (0-5, 0-2), which has been shut out three times and scored only 13 points before Saturday’s game.

Verdugo Hills moved into scoring position on its second drive, but quarterback Noel Alvarado fumbled at Marshall’s 10-yard line.

Alvarado redeemed himself by scoring on a one-yard sneak late in the second quarter to complete a 14-play, 74-yard drive. Alvarado had 123 yards in total offense (98 passing, 25 rushing). Robert Servellon’s kick for the extra point, however, hit the left upright.

Alvarado threw interceptions on Verdugo Hills’ final two possessions, including a long pass that would have given the Dons a first down on Marshall’s one with 3 minutes 52 seconds left.

“We ran (a crossing pattern) out of a slot (formation) and we hoped to sucker them with it,” said Dons’ offensive coordinator Rob Huffman, a former Cal State Northridge quarterback. “If (Alvarado) had thrown it a little farther, we might have had a touchdown. But they stayed back pretty well.”