Wofford Lights Up Kennedy Defense : High school football: Bakersfield speedster rushes for 265 yards and four touchdowns in the first half to lead state’s third-ranked team past Golden Cougars, 48-21.

The only real question was whether the folks in the end zone would run out of fireworks. The exploding, sparkling type, that is.

Junior running back Steve Wofford supplied plenty of his own with his two fleet feet.

Wofford rushed for 265 yards and four touchdowns to lead Bakersfield to a 48-21 rout of Kennedy in an intersectional game at Bakersfield High on Friday night.

Bakersfield shot fireworks in the air each time the Drillers scored, which was darn near every time they touched the ball. Same with Wofford, the Cal-Hi Sports state sophomore player of the year in 1992.

Boom, boom, out go the lights. This is one explosive player.

“They’re for real,” Kennedy Coach Bob Francola said. “Wofford is as good as any back we’ll see.”

They saw his back, all right, and often.

Wofford piled up 265 yards and four touchdowns by halftime, by which time Bakersfield (2-0) held a 35-6 lead.

He carried three times in the second half for no net gain before he was yanked.

Wofford had 116 yards by the end of the first quarter. On a particularly spectacular play, Wofford took the ball on a draw play, held off three would-be tacklers in the backfield before escaping and running 72 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.

That gave Bakersfield a 21-6 lead, and it was all but over.

The Drillers scored on five of their first seven possessions.

Wofford scored on runs of 30, 66, one and 86 yards. It didn’t help matters any when Kennedy linebackers Vincent Carthron (right knee) and Brian Morales (dislocated right shoulder) went to the sidelines with injuries in the first quarter and never returned.

Wofford, to be sure, found the holes and exploited the weakness in the Kennedy defense.

“Our defense carried us last week,” Francola said. “Our defense got a dose of smash and bash tonight.”

Kennedy (0-1-1) hung with Bakersfield, ranked third in the state, for half of the first quarter. Quarterback Dan McMullen completed a swing pass to tailback Donte Scarbrough, who ran 61 yards for a touchdown to bring the Golden Cougars to within 7-6 with 9:11 left in the quarter.

McMullen completed 13 of 27 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns. He had three passes intercepted, including one that was returned 18 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter.

The interception return gave Bakersfield a 48-6 lead.

Scarbrough had a big night, rushing for 114 yards in 20 carries. He also caught a scoring pass, and threw a touchdown strike of 29 yards to Antwan Smith on an option.

He also scored on his two final carries of the first half, the later an 86-yard sweep around left end on which no Kennedy defender laid a hand on him.