Razumich Gets Glendale Off to a Running Start

Pathon who? Some people only look forward, which was definitely the case Thursday night.

In this instance, fast forward.

It took all of about, say, five minutes for folks at Glendale High to forget about last year’s standout tailback Pathon Rucker, a preseason All-American in 1991 and one of the most storied backs in school history.

Glendale also erased the memory of last year’s lone regular-season defeat by spanking Alhambra, 28-0, in a nonleague opener at Glendale.

“Nothing against the guy because he was a great back, but all these guys have heard for a while is, ‘Pathon, Pathon, Pathon,’ ” Glendale Coach Don Shoemaker said. “I think they wanted to show that they can play a little bit too.”

Rucker’s replacement didn’t exactly mirror the fleet tailback in terms of running style, but the results were comparable.

James Razumich, a 5-foot-10, 195-pound senior who was an All-Pacific League linebacker last fall, made like a submarine captain all night. To wit: Dive, dive, dive.

Glendale repeatedly ran up the middle with Razumich, who rushed for 153 yards in 12 carries and scored on runs of nine and 42 yards.

“If it’s working, it’s working,” Shoemaker said with a smile and a shrug.

Alhambra was worked over to be sure. The Moors might have beaten Glendale, 30-28, a year ago, but this time they could manage only six yards on the ground, thanks in large part to five quarterback sacks. Brian Flette, a senior linebacker, had two.

Alhambra had 104 yards total to 286 for Glendale.

Glendale’s first score was set up by a 26-yard interception return to the Alhambra 24 by Razumich. Four plays later, he scored on a nine-yard run with 6 minutes 9 seconds left in the first quarter. The Dynamiters also scored on their second and third possessions, on a two-yard scoring run by Shawn Cole and a seven-yard jaunt by Jaiyi Figueras.

“I think we came out to show that last year’s loss was still on our minds,” Shoemaker said.

Razumich finished the scoring with a 42-yard run with 8:42 left.