HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL : Poway Takes Charge, Jolts Rancho Bernardo

As rivalries go, Rancho Bernardo-Poway got off to an electric start.

Though postponed by a day because lightning knocked out electricity to its field Friday night, Poway scored 17 second-half points to take a 24-14 Palomar League victory over the Broncos.

The Titans (6-1, 4-0) remained tied atop the league standings with Mt. Carmel. Poway is trying to win its first title since the Palomar League formed in 1980. Rancho Bernardo is 4-3, 1-3.

Poway relied on its defense and special teams:

-- Punter Jeff Pattison ran for 10 yards on a fourth-and-3 from Rancho Bernardo’s 47 to keep alive an 80-yard scoring drive that took 20 plays and consumed the first 10 minutes 3 seconds of the second half. It tied the game at 14-14.

-- When Kevin Kaufman mishandled the snap, David Moreno and Joe Lucia partially blocked Kaufman’s seven-yard punt. It gave Poway the ball at the Ranch Bernardo 35 with 5:24 left in the game. Seven plays later, backup Matt Turner kicked a 34-yard field goal with 2:04 remaining to give Poway a 17-14 lead.

Moreno excelled in the final two minutes with three quarterback sacks that resulted in two fumbles, the last of which he recovered in the end zone on the final play of the game to make it 24-14.

Poway’s Russ Fouts rushed 31 times for 125 yards, and Travis Nichols, who rushed for a touchdown, completed six of 13 passes for 78 yards, two interceptions and a 13-yard scoring pass to Pattison.