Quartz Hill’s Pass Defense Stingy of Late

Quartz Hill High has allowed just 1,258 yards passing in 12 games for an average of 104.8 yards a game going into Friday night’s Southern Section Division I semifinal against Mater Dei. But the Rebel pass defense has improved dramatically since allowing 208 yards to Hart’s Ryan Connors in a 23-20 loss Oct. 5, the team’s last loss.

* Against Canyon’s Kevin Bialas, the Rebels intercepted three passes and allowed 118 yards.

* Against Palmdale’s Rodney Williams, the Rebels intercepted two passes and allowed just one passing yard.

* Against Long Beach Wilson’s Adam Trafas, the Rebels intercepted three more passes and allowed just seven completions in 30 attempts for 70 yards.

* Against ground-oriented Rubidoux in last week’s quarterfinal, the Rebels did not allow a single yard through the air.

Quartz Hill Coach John Albee has cited the play of defensive backs Richard Pesti and John Sokalski and linebackers Selves Smith and Josh Patterson as reasons for the improvement.

In Mater Dei’s Billy Blanton, the Rebels face another stiff challenge. In last week’s quarterfinal win over Eisenhower, Blanton threw for 220 yards and three touchdowns. He has 19 touchdown passes this season.

Defense: The second-half magic continues for Quartz Hill, which outscored Rubidoux, 18-0, after intermission in last week’s game. In the past four games, Quartz Hill has outscored opponents in the second half, 102-0. The combined second-halfs score from the past six games is 139-7.

Secondary: His nickname is “Killer,” and although it was given to him by teammates, it could well have been bestowed upon him by opposing quarterbacks. Strong safety Keith Woods of San Fernando intercepted two passes in last week’s 41-6 defeat of Chatsworth in a first-round game of the City Section 4-A Division playoffs. Woods, a 6-foot, 175-pound senior who leads the team in tackles, has six interceptions to lead players at area City 4-A schools.

That would seem to be reason enough for quarterbacks to stay away from Woods, but there is another: Woods is the lone Tiger player with more than one interception. The school record for interceptions in a season is 10, set by Howard McCrary in 1988. . . .

Kennedy defensive back Billy Sanders has returned two interceptions for touchdowns, both against Crenshaw. In last week’s 40-6 playoff defeat of Crenshaw, Sanders returned an interception a school-record 96 yards for a score.

Offense: Delvon Hardaway finished the season with 33 receptions for 697 yards (21.1 average) and seven touchdowns to account for 64.7% of Chatsworth’s receiving yardage. . . .

The point total by Granada Hills in its 68-21 defeat of Chatsworth two weeks ago is believed to be a school record, as are the 650 yards on offense.