HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ROUNDUP : Castle Park’s Anthony Davis Gains 171 Yards in Victory Over Lincoln

With a little over eight minutes to play in a nonconference football game at Castle Park Friday night, the Trojans were assessed a 10-yard penalty.

Could it be that the officials were reprimanding Castle Park, whose quarterback had moments ago carried the ball for no gain, for not handing off to Anthony Davis?

Davis, Castle Park’s all-purpose running back, rushed for 171 yards on 32 carries as the 10th-ranked Trojans defeated visiting Lincoln, 14-6.

The compact 5-11, 180-pound senior was the only player from the Castle Park, besides quarterback Moses Moreno, who carried the ball.

“That’s what the one-back system is all about,” said Castle Park Coach Gil Warren, whose team improved to 3-0. “That’s what we got from San Diego State, and we have the perfect guy for the offense.”

The offense sputtered in the beginning. The Trojans went without a first down in the first quarter, and Lincoln (0-3) took a first-quarter lead when quarterback Akili Smith found Darran Hall on a 15-yard pass play. The point-after attempt failed.

Then Davis really swung into action. In addition to his running, he was used as a receiver. Although Moreno threw 11 passes and only completed four, he connected with Davis on a 57-yard touchdown that gave the Trojans a 7-6 lead with nine minutes left before the half.

Castle Park extended that lead to 14-6 when Moses connected with Benji Collins on a 48-yard play action pass into the right end of the end zone.

At 8:19 to play, the Trojans’ Chris Arnce attempted a 31-yard field goal that was nullified on a illegal procedure penalty against Castle Park, and he missed from 37-yards out after a bad snap.

The Trojans held off Lincoln on the next drive when defensive back Alex Espinoza intercepted a Smith pass on first-and-10 at the Castle Park 39 yard line. Lincoln had one more drive but Stan Bell recovered a fumble to end the Hornet threat.

“Our defense saved our butts,” Warren said. “They really kept us in it.”