JC ROUNDUP : Southwest Rolls Over Glendale

L.A. Southwest College won its second consecutive Western State Conference football game Saturday afternoon by defeating host Glendale College, 31-6.

The victory improved the Cougars’ record to 2-0 in the WSC and 2-1 overall.

Southwest quarterback Jesse Wallace, a mobile 5-10, 205-pound sophomore, completed 11 of 18 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns.

“We used our physical game and our finesse game,” Wallace said. “We put everything into it and we played our hearts out.”

The Cougar defense, led by 6-6, 260-pound lineman Bryan Proby and linebacker Stacey Ford, limited Glendale (0-2 in the conference) to 316 yards of total offense.

More importantly, the Cougars did not permit the banged-up Glendale running backs to establish a ground game.

All-America tailback Bobby Webster, clearly hampered by an ankle sprain, finished with just three yards on eight carries, although he did score Glendale’s only touchdown on a one-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Forced to take to the air, Glendale quarterbacks Mike McMullen and Eric Kiesau were intercepted three times, with Ford winding up on the receiving end of all of them.

“I thought we had a hell of an effort defensively,” L.A. Southwest coach Henry Washington said. “It was a total effort, but Stacey Ford in particular had a great game.”

McMullen, a 6-5, 200-pound freshman, was nine of 23 passing for 138 yards and two interceptions.

Kiesau, a 5-11, 160-pound freshman, completed 11 of 16 for 116 yards. Six of those completions went to freshman Keith West for 82 yards.

L.A. Southwest opened the scoring in the first quarter with a four-play, 60-yard drive that followed the first of Ford’s interceptions.

Wallace marched his team downfield through the air with back-to-back completions of 32 and 19 yards to set up a nine-yard touchdown pass to William Jarrett at the 8:22 mark.

Glendale, which could not get past the Cougar 45-yard line in the first half, watched L.A. Southwest’s Anthony Hoddrick boot an 81-yard punt to the Glendale one-yard line early in the second quarter.

Glendale escaped that predicament, but the Vaqueros were not as fortunate some nine minutes later when Wallace landed a 28-yard punt on the Glendale one, and Vaquero running back Fred Dean was tackled in the end zone for a safety one play later.

The Cougars made it 15-0 at the half when Wallace directed a four-play, 55-yard drive in under a minute. It culminated in a 25-yard touchdown pass to tight end Michael Stephens, who timed his jump perfectly with eight seconds left in the half.

“Coach just said get the ball up there and let (Stephens) outjump everybody,” Wallace said.

The drive was made possible when Glendale failed to convert on a fourth-and-seven situation at the Southwest 45.

Late in the thid quarter, the Cougars took a 23-0 lead when Chad Irving hauled in a 37-yard Wallace pass.

El Camino 48, Rancho Santiago 33: El Camino College scored 19 unanswered points in the first half to break a 7-7 tie and beat Rancho Santiago College in a Mission Conference matchup Saturday night at Santa Ana Stadium.

Warrior tailback Mark Harper rushed for 145 yards and four touchdowns in 30 carries.

After El Camino’s Latario Rachal returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, Rancho Santiago tied the score, 7-7, on a trick play.

Quarterback Rich Fanti took the snap from center and put the ball on the field for Antonio Gonzalez, a freshman offensive lineman who picked it up and ran 21 yards for a touchdown.

But El Camino (2-2, 1-1 in league) then scored 19 consecutive points on two Harper touchdowns and a two-yard run by Al Savea to take a 26-7 lead with 3:27 left in the first half.

Rancho Santiago fell to 1-2, 0-2 in the Mission Conference.

Pierce 19, Harbor 7: L.A. Pierce College handed host Harbor College its third consecutive loss Saturday night in a Western State Conference matchup.

Pierce quarterback Joe Pica came off the bench in the second half and led the Brahmas to a game-clinching touchdown in the fourth period.

Harbor quarterback Steve Young had a difficult night throwing the football, completing seven of 15 passes for 60 yards with one interception.

He was replaced in the final five minutes by backup Mark Choate, who completed two of six for 40 yards with one interception.

The Pierce defense throttled Harbor in the second half, limiting the Seahawks (0-3 overall, 0-2 in conference play) to 102 yards and four first downs in the final two quarters.

Harbor put together a drive in the second period. Starting from its own 13 after recovering a fumble, the Seahawks marched 87 yards in 14 plays, scoring on Young’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Griffin. Jose Ordaz kicked the extra point, and Harbor led, 7-3, with 6:23 remaining in the first half.