Bumpus Provides Impetus as Oxnard Routs Westlake

Westlake High opened some eyes by upsetting Buena last week, but the Warriors might have wanted to run and hide during Friday night’s 30-8 nonleague loss to host Oxnard.

Oxnard held Westlake to 35 yards rushing and continually harassed Warrior quarterback John Snyder, who completed only 10 of 27 passes for 121 yards and threw two interceptions. Snyder was sacked five times.

When the Yellowjackets had the ball, quarterback Larry Bumpus rushed 12 times for 112 yards and completed eight of 13 passes for 118 yards, accounting for all four of his team’s touchdowns.

“Larry isn’t spectacular at anything,” Oxnard Coach Jack Davis. “But he runs well and throws well.”

An understatement.

On the game’s first play, Bumpus took the snap and found no one to hand off to. He looked left, looked right, then ran up field for a six-yard gain.

The play was a harbinger of things to come. Later in the first quarter, Bumpus, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound junior, broke a 15-yard run that launched a 48-yard drive. Bumpus ran six yards for a score and a 7-0 lead.

As if someone had cracked open a hive, the Yellowjackets swarmed Westlake. Oxnard’s next possession was stopped short of the goal line by a penalty that resulted in a 20-yard field goal by Dan Duchai. After John Skidmore intercepted a Snyder pass at midfield, the Yellowjackets moved the ball steadily and Bumpus ran 15 yards for his second touchdown and a 17-0 lead.

“Our line was blocking great,” Bumpus said. “We just overpowered them.”

With three minutes remaining in the half, Jasper Satterwhite intercepted another Snyder pass and the Yellowjackets engineered another drive. Duchai carried for 24 yards on one play, John Lewis gained eight of his 72 yards up the middle, then Bumpus threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Chris Kalaleh. Oxnard went into the locker room with a 24-0 lead.

“We knew we had to contain Bumpus and we didn’t,” Westlake Coach Jim Benkert said. “It just wasn’t meant to be.”

Westlake briefly found an offensive rhythm in the second half. Ryan Stoops started it off with a 15-yard run. Snyder, given rare protection by his line, completed two passes. Binh Hoang then ran 10 yards for a touchdown to close the gap to 24-8.

But a subsequent drive ended with a fumble and Westlake never threatened again. Oxnard finished the scoring with a 35-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-down play from Bumpus to Chris Winters with less than a minute left.