HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ROUNDUP : St. Paul Spreads Glory in Routing Beverly Hills

Behind three running backs who combined for six touchdowns, St. Paul of Santa Fe Springs routed Beverly Hills, 42-7, Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section Division III playoffs at El Segundo High.

Carlos Ramos, Shawn McKinney and Anthony Morales each scored two touchdowns to lead the Swordsmen, who outgained the Normans, 247 to 121, in total yards.

“We did the same thing that we did all year,” Ramos said, who gained 92 yards in 14 carries. “Our offensive line just drove them off the ball real well.”

St. Paul (7-3-2) constantly pressured Beverly Hills quarterback Ziv Gottlieb, sacking him seven times for minus 66 yards. Gottlieb completed 11 of 22 passes for 134 yards with two interceptions.

“The key for us was the pressure we put on Gottlieb,” St. Paul Coach Miguel Olmedo said. “We couldn’t give him time to pick us apart.”

St. Paul took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on touchdown runs of two and eight yards by McKinney. The Normans threatened early in the second quarter, but were stopped by a 55-yard interception return by Rudy Leyvas. St. Paul scored seven plays later on a two-yard run by Ramos.

After a six-yard touchdown run by Morales, the Swordsmen led, 28-0, at the end of the firsthalf.

Beverly Hills, which helped the Swordsmen by turning the ball over four times, allowed two more touchdowns in the second half on a four-yard run by Morales and an eight-yard run by Ramos, as St. Paul led, 42-0, early in the fourth quarter.

Beverly Hills, the fourth-place team in the Bay League, finished with a record of 6-6. The Normans finally scored with 1:53 left in the game on a two-yard run by Greg Holmes.

“We just made too many mistakes,” said Brian Cook, Beverly Hills assistant coach. “We don’t know if it was nervousness or not. But St. Paul played a heck of a game and took advantage of every mistake we made.”