FRIDAY FOOTBALL ROUNDUP : With Oropeza at Reins, Lancers Gallop Past Eagles

Bell Gardens quarterback Ricky Oropeza completed seven of 10 passes for 144 yards and rushed for 49 yards in 15 carries to guide the Lancers to a 14-6 intersectional victory over Bell.

Oropeza scored on a one-yard plunge on Bell Gardens’ opening drive to give the Lancers a 7-0 first-quarter lead. He connected with Carlos Medina on a six-yard scoring pass with three seconds left in the third quarter to widen the lead 14. Oropeza, a 5-foot-9, 170-pound senior who also plays linebacker, had an interception on defense.

Running back Junior Samano caught four passes for 113 yards and gained 37 yards in 16 carries, and Mike Flores gained 48 yards in 12 carries for Bell Gardens.

The Eagles, who were limited to 27 yards rushing, scored on a 13-yard pass from Danny Morales to Freddy Alcala with less than a minute to play to avert a shutout.

Records: Bell Gardens 1-0; Bell 0-1.

Roosevelt 12, Franklin 0--Roughrider quarterback Frank Madrid scored the only touchdown of the game on a seven-yard run with a minute remaining in the first half to lead Roosevelt to a nonconference win.

Defensive end John Pineda blocked a punt by Franklin’s Carlos Martinez and recovered the ball in the end zone.

Franklin’s best chance came in the fourth quarter on passes from Jeff Deno to Jesse Jaime, advancing the Panthers to Roosevelt’s 23-yard line. Franklin was limited to 84 yards.

Venice 21, Huntington Park 7--Running back Larry Atkins rushed for 205 yards in 23 carries and scored a touchdown to lead the Gondoliers in a nonconference game at Venice.

Venice had to overcome 14 penalties for 130 yards to defeat the Spartans, who lost starting quarterback Deon Mayes to an ankle injury on the third play of the game. Backup Andre Medina connected with Manuel Palache on an 83-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter for Huntington Park’s only score.

Atkins, who also played safety on defense, scored on an 11-yard run early in the third quarter to break a 7-7 tie. Gabe Shaibi scored on a one-yard run in the second quarter and Danny Garcia added a 31-yard touchdown run in the fourth for Venice.

Records: Venice 1-0; Huntington Park 0-1

San Fernando 19, Fremont 14--Flip Aguilar caught a 47-yard pass from Leon Blunt with 1:25 in the game to give the Tigers a nonconference win at San Fernando.

Derrick Rowe intercepted a desperation pass by Fremont quarterback William Yates with 41 seconds remaining to preserve the victory.

Fremont held a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on 84- and 62-yards drives. Delante Walker ran for 32 yards on a fourth and two for the Pathfinders’ first touchdown, and Yates threw a 38-yard pass to George Jacobs for the second score.

The Tigers were down, 14-7, before Blunt scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak with five minutes to play to bring San Fernando within a point. The conversion pass failed.

Blunt completed only one of his first seven pass attempts, but finished five for 12 for 114 yards, including the game-winner.

“It feels good,” Sean Blunt said of his first victory. “(But) from a coaching standpoint, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Records: Fremont 0-1; San Fernando 1-0

Birmingham 28, Lincoln 6--Junior running back Courtney Blunt rushed for 219 yards and two touchdowns in 21 carries to fuel the Braves past the Tigers at Birmingham High.

Blunt’s touchdowns came on runs of two and 84 yards. Quarterback Marvin Powell connected with Paul Prince on a 33-yard touchdown to put Birmingham up, 28-0, with 1:14 to go in the first half.

It was Powell’s only completion in two attempts, but he also accounted for another touchdown, on a 32-yard run on a broken play in the second quarter.

The Birmingham defense held Lincoln to 19 yards rushing.

Records: Lincoln 0-1; Birmingham 1-0

South Gate 32, Wilson 0--Taking advantage of three Wilson turnovers in the second quarter, the Rams rolled to a nonconference win at Wilson.

Ram running back Roylando Jeffries rushed for 64 yards in nine carries and two touchdowns, and running back Francisco Anguiano rushed for 44 yards in three carries and a touchdown. The Mules managed 11 yards in total offense.

Records: South Gate 1-0; Wilson 0-1

Dorsey 27, Leuzinger 8--Dorsey scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including one on a 45-yard pass from Roderick Brown to Antoine Wilson, in the Dons’ nonconference opener at Leuzinger.

Wilson’s touchdown catch capped an 11-play, 84-yard drive that gave Dorsey its first lead, 14-8, with 5:41 left in the game. Wilson scored again on a 14-yard run with 53 seconds left, and teammate George Blackwell returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown on the final play. Dorsey running back Che Johnson led all rushers with 84 yards on 14 carries.

Records: Dorsey 1-0; Leuzinger 0-1

Manual Arts 28, Crenshaw 6--Defensive back Kareem Wafer returned interceptions of 43 and 20 yards within 13 seconds to lead the Toilers to an upset win in a nonconference game.

Crenshaw was driving early in the fourth quarter, trailing 15-6, when Wafer stepped in front of Cougar receiver Dennis Fomond, picked off a pass from quarterback Ricky Lumford and went untouched for his first touchdown. On Crenshaw’s next drive, Wafer intercepted a pass on the first play and scored.

Crenshaw was off to a strong start when quarterback Jovon Jiles hit Johnnie Johnson for a 32-yard touchdown early in the first quarter, completing a 65-yard drive in three plays. Despite the touchdown, Jiles was replaced by Lumford in the second quarter.

A turnover by Crenshaw led to a one-yard touchdown run by Paul Boyd midway in the second quarter to give Manual Arts the lead, 7-6.

Toilers running back Dartanyum Smith led all rushers with 74 yards on six carries, including a 43-yard run up the middle. Defensive end Andre Griffin had three sacks to lead the defense.

Records: Manual Arts 1-0; Crenshaw 0-1

Los Angeles 16, Hollywood 0--Shena Onalopa carried 13 times for 243 yards and two touchdowns to give the visiting Romans a nonleague victory. Onalopa, a 6-2, 210-pound tailback, scored on runs of 70 and 54 yards.

Hollywood’s only serious scoring threat came in the fourth quarter after Sheik linebacker Sarkis Minasyan recovered a blocked punt at the Romans’ 10. But on fourth and goal, tackle Julian Rush and defensive end Akeem Onalopa sacked Nelson Umana at the five.

Records: Los Angeles 1-0; Hollywood 0-1

Garfield 41, Marshall 7--The Bulldogs rolled up 350 yards on offense and played stingy defense to beat the visiting Barristers in a nonconference game.

All-city running back Armando Figueroa went 25 yards on his first carry to set up the Bulldogs’ first touchdown, a 26-yard pass from David Villalobos to split end Raul Gutierrez. Figueroa rushed for 115 yards in 15 carries.

Villalobos completed four passes in six attempts for 68 yards, two of them touchdown passes to Gutierrez.

Garfield held Marshall to 141 yards on offense with the Bulldogs’ blitzing linebackers putting constant pressure on quarterback Ivan Magana, who transferred from Wilson. Magana completed six passes in 10 attempts for 47 yards.

Ronald Gonzales scored Marshall’s lone touchdown on a two-yard run with 10:49 left in the game.

Records: Garfield 1-0; Marshall 0-1

Jefferson 18, Murphy 12--Marc Harris rushed nine times for 114 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead Jefferson to a nonleague win at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

Harris, who also plays middle linebacker, had nine tackles and two sacks.

Gibbons St. Paul scored both touchdowns for Murphy, one on a 60-yard pass from Danny Ragsdale and the other on a 90-yard kickoff return.

Records: Jefferson 1-0; Murphy 0-1

Torrance 43, Verbum Dei 8--Torrance quarterback Tony Brown threw for three touchdowns and kicked a 27-yard field goal to lead the Tartars in a Southern Section nonleague contest.

The Eagles’ only score came on their second possession when quarterback David Williams and wide receiver Damion Wright hooked up on a 64-yard pass play.

Records: Verbum Dei 0-1; Torrance 1-0