Jenkins’ Six Touchdown Runs Help Dana Hills Grab Second

Running back Marcus Jenkins tied a school record by scoring six touchdowns Friday night in Dana Hills’ 43-19 romp over San Clemente at Dana Hills High.

Jenkins rushed for 243 yards and scored touchdowns on runs of 23, 18, 1, 6, 5 and 71 yards. He tied former Dana Hills star Jim Gleed’s school mark set in 1979 against Laguna Hills.

More important, Dana Hills (6-1-3, 3-1-1 in league) clinched second place in the South Coast League, the best finish for the Dolphins in 10 seasons under Coach Don Douglass.

San Clemente (2-8, 0-5) gave Dana Hills an early scare, scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter after turnovers to take a 12-0 lead. But quarterback Bret Hall twisted his knee with 3:37 remaining in the first quarter, and the Tritons never recovered.

“Losing our quarterback threw a monkey wrench into our game plan,” said San Clemente Coach Dave Elecciri. “When he went down, everything changed.”

Mostly, the momentum changed in Dana Hills’ favor as the Dolphins scored three touchdowns in the second quarter and were never threatened afterward. Jenkins scored on runs of 23 yards, 18 yards and one yard in the second quarter and had 93 yards rushing at halftime.

“Yeah, I was a little nervous when they got up 12-0,” Douglass said. “It obviously hurt them when the quarterback went down.”

Hall had 102 yards passing before hurting his knee, and his replacement, Morgan Bannister, had difficulty finding a groove after moving from wide receiver. Bannister threw two interceptions in the second quarter after catching a 54-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.

Jenkins continued to burn San Clemente’s defense in the second half, gaining 150 yards and scoring three more touchdowns. He had scoring runs of 6, 5 and 71 yards in the second half.

“Marcus has been good every week, but he probably broke a few more long runs tonight,” Douglass said. “I’m very proud of the kids. We’ve been at it (coaching) for 10 years, and this is the highest finish in the history of our school.

“Finishing second in this league is very gratifying. Believe me, I’ve been on the other end of tonight’s score a few times.”

San Clemente finished another year of frustration. The Tritons have lost 28 consecutive games in the league and have limped to a 2-33 record over the past six years. Still, Elecciri found reason to be optimistic about next season.

“I started 12 juniors and four sophomores tonight, so I think we have a good foundation for next season,” he said.