Muir’s Offense Gains 462 Yards, Routs Westlake

Pasadena Muir, the defending Southern Section Division II co-champion, routed Westlake of Westlake Village, 52-13, in a first-round high school football playoff game Friday night at Pasadena City College.

Muir, which tied Santa Barbara in last year’s divisional final, had 462 yards in total offense and 19 first downs against a Westlake defense that allowed 134 points in its last three games of the season.

Muir, 9-3 after finishing second in the Pacific League, was led by sophomore tailback Saladin McCullough, who scored three touchdowns and rushed for 103 yards; junior fullback Linza Williams, who scored twice and rushed for 113 yards, and senior quarterback Sedrick Thomas, who passed for two touchdowns and accounted for 191 yards in total offense.

“We didn’t expect to beat them this bad, but once we saw that we could move the ball on offense, we didn’t let up,” Thomas said, who completed seven of nine passes for 130 yards.

In the first half, Muir had problems stopping Westlake’s offense. The Warriors had nine first downs. However, big plays by linebacker Damon Danneker, who had two interceptions and forced a third, prevented Westlake from doing much scoring.

Westlake scored on the game’s first play from scrimmage with an 80-yard trick-play double-pass from Seamus Gibbons, who caught a lateral from quarterback Todd Preston, to a wide-open Erik Holcomb.

After forcing Muir to punt, the Warriors had a chance to extend their lead but were stopped by Danneker’s first interception. Muir needed only three plays to drive 35 yards and tie the score, 7-7, after a three-yard run by McCullough.

After a fumble by Westlake on the ensuing kickoff, Muir again needed only three plays to score as Williams capped a 43-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown run.

Danneker stopped Westlake on its next possession when his pressure forced Preston into throwing an interception to Shelton Malone at Muir’s 30-yard line. McCullough then finished a six-play Muir drive with a 19-yard run for his second touchdown.

After Westlake scored on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Preston to Gibbons, Muir scored again when McCullough glided over from a yard out to finish a 10-play, 67-yard drive. The Mustangs completed the half with a 33-yard field goal by Jason Aniline, after a 57-yard interception return by Danneker, giving Muir a 31-13 halftime lead.

“We were pressing to make the big plays once we got behind,” said Westlake Coach Jim Benkert, whose team finished at 8-2-1. “We passed the ball effectively at times and then we stalled.”