UC Stays Undefeated by Derailing Point Loma

Heading into Friday’s nonleague game at Point Loma, University City High’s football team--one of four in the county yet to be defeated--had established itself not only as a squad that wouldn’t break, but one that wouldn’t bend.

In seven games, the defense had given up a total of six points. Not once this season had the Centurions trailed.

Now you can call them a team that will bend.

Against Point Loma, UC trailed twice and its defense yielded more than twice the total points it had coming in. But Centurions (8-0) have yet to be broken. They defeated the Pointers, 26-14, shutting out Point Loma (4-4) in the second half after trailing, 14-13, at halftime.

“We beat them by staying tough,” said UC running back Paul Turner, who rushed for 162 yards on 15 carries, including an electrifying 82-yard touchdown that buried the Pointers in the fourth quarter. “We were behind and people thought we were falling apart.”

Turner said his No. 7 Centurions weren’t getting enough respect in the city, but people would have to respect them if they beat Point Loma.

Said Turner, “We’ve been waiting to play them all season.”

It showed in the third quarter, when Turner and fullback Ed Miller started dragging tacklers. First, Miller (13 carries, 114 yards) rambled 20 yards on consecutive plays on UC’s second drive of the third quarter. He ran over left tackle for a touchdown to give UC a 20-14 lead on the second 20-yarder.

That inspired Turner on UC’s next drive. On first down and 20 from the 18, Turner took a delayed handoff up the middle, was hit and appeared to be going down. His legs wrapped by two tacklers, his body at 45-degree angle, Turner somehow freed himself. And then?

“And then it was a long, long run,” said Turner. Eighty-two yards for the score.

The Centurions, who rushed 33 times for 300 yards, had to survive a case of the jitters in the first half. Point Loma burned them on a 39-yard run by Rantie Harper (16 carries for 69 yards) and a 25-yard pass from Ben White (15 for 23 for 158 yards with two interceptions) to Jacques Ballard to lead at halftime.

“We were psyched out,” said Turner. “We were trying so hard, we messed up.”

The Pointers helped them get untracked. Harper’s fumble, recovered by Ken Williams, set up Daranzol Sheppard’s nine-yard scoring pass to David Randolph on first down. A bad snap to punter Garo Smidke put the ball at the Pointer 17. Turner scored on a four-yard run three plays later.