GAME OF THE WEEK : Locke Shuts Down Garfield, 20-0

Fired up after a season-opening loss, Locke quarterback Akili Roberson passed for two touchdowns and ran for another Friday night to lead the Saints to a 20-0 victory over Garfield.

“I felt like I owed the team a game,” said Roberson, a 5-foot-11 junior. “I knew I had to come out and play my best tonight.”

Expectations were high for Roberson after he led Locke to the LA Watts Games title in June. Many coaches considered him to be one of the best quarterbacks in the city, but he engineered only one touchdown drive in Locke’s 21-8 opening game loss to Washington.

However, Roberson was on his game against Garfield. He completed eight of 10 passes for 114 yards and rushed for 37 yards in seven carries.

Wide receiver Brian Clark was Roberson’s main target throughout the night. Clark caught seven passes for 88 yards and scored two touchdowns.

“We just work well together and tonight we knew if we lost this game, chances are we wouldn’t make the playoffs,” Clark said.

Locke opened the game at the Huntington Park High field with an impressive 11-play, 73-yard touchdown drive that featured running back Thurman Spencer, who gained 21 yards in three carries. The key play in the drive was a 26-yard pass from Roberson to wide receiver Carl Conston, which led to Roberson’s one-yard touchdown run.

After a missed field goal by Garfield, Locke drove 80 yards in 11 plays to take a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.

With its running game working, Locke effectively went to the air on that drive, with Roberson completing three passes for 50 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown to Clark.

In the second half, Locke had problems moving the ball early but mounted a long drive in the fourth quarter that ended with an eight-yard Roberson-to-Clark touchdown pass that put the Saints up 20-0.

Locke’s defense dominated the Bulldogs, holding Garfield standout tailback Armando Figueroa, who gained 1,207 yards as a sophomore a year ago, to 35 yards in 16 carries.

“We were just off tonight, where we couldn’t get off anything on offense,” said Figueroa, the 1991 Eastern League player of the year. “I messed up on a couple of reads and we had problems with our blocking.”

Garfield junior quarterback David Villalobos also had a long night, completing only two of 11 passes for 36 yards with one interception. He was also sacked four times for minus 32 yards.