Salisbury’s 1st-Half Heroics Doom Antelope Valley, 28-24

Antelope Valley College football Coach Brent Carder summed up Brett Salisbury in one sentence.

“He’s everything everybody said he was,” Carder said.

Salisbury, the nation’s leading junior college passer, played just the first half Saturday before exiting because of a sprained ankle, but he still finished with 379 passing yards and four touchdowns to lead Palomar College to a 28-24 victory over Antelope Valley in the Hall of Fame Bowl at Balboa Stadium.

Salisbury completed 15 of 24 passes in guiding the Comets to a 28-12 halftime lead.

Palomar (7-4) is the champion of the Mission Conference’s Southern Division and Antelope Valley (8-3) is the second-place team from the Foothill Conference. Antelope Valley had fared well against passing teams, limiting East L.A. to 75 yards earlier this year.

Salisbury, who left Brigham Young this season because he didn’t figure to get much playing time behind eventual Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer, was replaced by freshman Choo Choo Walker. Walker completed seven of 17 for 107 yards and rushed seven times for 45 yards. He also caught four passes for 50 yards and two touchdowns before Salisbury’s injury.

Palomar started quickly behind Salisbury--thanks in part to Antelope Valley’s generosity. The Marauders fumbled twice in the first quarter and Palomar scored each time, Salisbury throwing scoring passes of 69 and 13 yards.

Receiver Myron Wise, who scored on the 69-yard play, finished with 12 receptions for 333 yards.

Overall, Palomar had 612 yards in offense. Antelope Valley had 394 yards.

Antelope Valley’s Steve Miller followed Salisbury’s two scoring passes with a 57-yard touchdown run, but the point-after attempt by Jason Camp failed.

Salisbury answered with two more scoring passes--of 82 and 13 yards--in the second quarter. Trailing, 28-6, Antelope Valley scored just before the half when Rick Starling picked up a squib kick at the 25, ran 15 yards, then pitched the ball to John Johnson, who completed a 75-yard return with 24 seconds left.

Antelope Valley scored the only touchdowns of the second half on a 65-yard scoring pass and a 28-yard touchdown run by quarterback Marty Washington.

Washington was 12 of 26 for 208 yards.