Granada Hills Stuns Carson Behind Kyle’s 3 Touchdowns

Feeling it had nothing to lose and everything to gain, a rare concession from Granada Hills High, the Highlanders started Friday night’s game against heavily favored Carson with an onside kick.

It only got stranger from there.

In a game filled with weirdness, rarities, big plays and bungles, the Highlanders shocked Carson, 29-18, in a nonleague game at Granada Hills.

“I can’t say enough about how our kids played,” Granada Hills co-Coach Darryl Stroh said, beaming. “It was a great, great game. It was unbelievable.”

Despite a touchdown that was waved off the scoreboard, Granada Hills (1-1) held on to weather a late Carson rally. It was perhaps the Highlanders’ biggest upset since they beat Carson, 27-14, in the City Section 4-A Division final in 1987--and just as entertaining.

Led by junior tailback Raheem Kyle, who rushed for 145 yards in 21 carries and scored three touchdowns, Granada Hills took a 14-point first-half lead.

With Carson trailing, 14-6, in the third quarter, the Colts’ Jamie Sander had a pass intercepted by Will Brewer, who raced 43 yards for a touchdown and a 21-6 Highlander lead with 4 minutes 2 seconds left in the third quarter.

The madness had just begun.

Carson (1-2) moved within 21-12 when Theron Hill (170 yards in 20 carries) scored from five yards with 11:26 left to play.

Granada Hills’ next drive stalled, but Tim Boundy’s punt landed at the Carson 10 and spun back into the Colts’ Dwayne Picou. The ball caromed into the end zone where it was recovered by Granada Hills’ Caleb Craig. The play was ruled a touchdown--for about 30 seconds.

After a protracted discussion between several officials and the Granada Hills staff, the ball was given to Carson at the 20. The referees ruled that the ball was a muff and whether it was touched by Carson, it was a touchback.

After the ball hit Picou, it squirted out of a mass of bodies near the 10. Whether the ball was still technically a muff after it was touched by another Carson defender was questioned at length by Stroh.

“I want to know how can it still be a muff when another guy hits it and knocks it into the end zone” said Stroh, who indicated that he planned to investigate the ruling with City Section.

It looked as though the ruling would prove critical when Carson started its belated comeback. Carson then scored when Sander (eight of 20 for 214 yards) hit Tony Knox on a slant pattern on a 78-yard play, cutting the Highlander lead to 21-18 with 5:51 left.

Kyle then made two big plays. On third and 16 from the Carson 44, he gained 19 yards around left end. On third and 19 from the 35, he broke loose again and scored with 1:15 left to clinch victory.

All this from a 5-foot-7, 170-pound player who gained 35 yards in 10 carries last week in a 42-24 loss to Washington.

“He made the big plays tonight,” Granada Hills co-Coach Tom Harp said. “He showed the talent that he’s got.”

Carson committed six turnovers, two on interceptions thrown by Sander. In all, Carson fumbled seven times, losing four. It ended for the Colts when Sander was sacked at midfield for a 15-yard loss on the final play of the game and lost the ball to Granada Hills.

Carson probably could not play any worse than it did in the first half when it amassed 81 yards in penalties and turned the ball over four times. The Highlanders converted the second Colt turnover into a touchdown.

On Carson’s first possession, John Torgeson intercepted a pass by Sander, giving Granada Hills the ball at its 19. The Highlander drive stalled, but Carson’s Damin Hurst fumbled a punt by Boundy and John Moss recovered at the Colts’ 27.

After an incomplete pass, Kyle took a pitch and bolted around right end for a 7-0 lead with 6:02 left in the first quarter.

Carson fumbled on its next possession, giving Granada Hills the ball at the Carson 23. Kyle, who gained 14 yards to set up the score, gave the Highlanders a 14-0 lead on a three-yard sprint into the right corner of the end zone.

Carson finally stopped bungling long enough to get on the scoreboard in the second quarter. Wingback Hill--who rushed for 135 yards in 13 carries before intermission--caught a 26-yard pass from Sander with 3:12 left in the half to bring Carson within 14-6.