HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ROUNDUP : Rio Mesa Narrowly Avoids Being Upset

Senior fullback Junior Liufau rushed for 270 yards in 12 carries and set up quarterback Don DiDomizio’s one-yard run with 45 seconds to play as unbeaten Rio Mesa High survived a scare, defeating winless Santa Clara, 25-24, Friday night in a nonleague game at Rio Mesa.

Liufau had scoring runs of 90, 13 and 44 yards, and his 40-yard run to the Saints’ 12-yard line was the key play in the Spartans’ winning drive.

Santa Clara (0-3) used a multiple-set running attack to dominate the time of possession, controlling the ball for 37 of the 48 minutes. The Saints rushed for 307 yards, including 154 and one touchdown in 22 carries by Paul Soliz.

After Soliz booted a 28-yard field goal in the first quarter, Liufau ran for 90 yards to put the Spartans ahead, 7-3, at halftime. There were six lead changes in the game.

In other nonleague games:

Alemany 24, Bishop Montgomery 0--David Eastham took Alemany’s first play from scrimmage 88 yards for a touchdown and the Indians went on to win at Bishop Montgomery. Eastham finished with 161 yards in 14 carries.

Senior Brian VanHolton scored on a one-yard run in the second quarter and senior Jason Long added a 20-yard field goal to give Alemany a 17-0 halftime lead. Senior tight end Anthony Castillo caught a three-yard touchdown pass from Rudy Pantoja in the third quarter to cap the scoring.

The Knights (0-3) drove 70 yards in the fourth quarter, but the game ended when Alemany’s David Zufeld recovered a fumble on the five-yard line.

San Marino 28, Saugus 21--Danny Loyd connected with Josh Oder on a 66-yard pass play with six minutes remaining to give host San Marino (2-1) the victory.

Saugus running back Chris Johnson tied the score, 21-21, on a 32-yard run with 1:15 left in the third period. He finished with 222 yards and two touchdowns in 23 carries. Johnson’s first touchdown, a 64-yard run in the first period, tied the score, 7-7.

Saugus quarterback Greg Marquez was four of 13 for 96 yards and one touchdown, a 61-yard pass to Tim Maier that tied the score, 14-14, in the second quarter.

Loyd, a junior, completed 15 of 26 for 283 yards and two touchdowns. His other touchdown pass was of 15 yards to Jack Hamilton in the third quarter to put the Titans ahead, 21-14.

Burroughs 13, La Canada 0--Carlos Moreno and Ed Melgar combined for 208 yards rushing and two touchdowns to lead host Burroughs (2-1) to its second consecutive win. It came on Coach Gary Bernardi’s 39th birthday.

Moreno (11 carries, 83 yards) scored on a six-yard run in the second quarter to cap a 10-play, 80-yard drive. Melgar (14 carries, 125 yards) scored from 24 yards in the fourth period after junior safety Ken Knoop recovered a fumble.

Camarillo 44, Hueneme 3--Running back Robert Smith scored five touchdowns and rushed for 271 yards in 15 carries to pace the visiting Scorpions (2-1). Smith, who played only in the first half, scored from 12 yards on Camarillo’s first play from scrimmage after Ryan Bourget recovered a Hueneme fumble. He also had scoring runs of 55, two, 17 and 80 yards as Camarillo scored on each of their first five possessions.

Camarillo finished with 379 rushing yards and 436 yards overall. Hueneme (1-2) managed 58 total yards and scored on a 45-yard field goal by Robert Ralston.

Orlando Carrillo of Hueneme was carried off the field with a neck injury near the end of the second quarter.

St. Genevieve 25, Eagle Rock 14--Randy Iaccino returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown and quarterback Alex Muller scored twice on one-yard runs to lead St. Genevieve (2-1) at Birmingham High.

Muller’s first touchdown capped a 10-play drive after the Valiants recovered an onside kick following Iaccino’s return.

Muir 35, Palmdale 9--Shawn Haslip rushed for 138 yards in 14 carries, including a 73-yard first-quarter touchdown run, as Muir (3-0) beat host Palmdale (0-3).

Palmdale quarterback Rocque Sandoval completed eight of 24 for 196 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown pass to Ted Mondragon. Palmdale’s Anthony Coleman led all receivers with five receptions for 97 yards.

Royal 35, Cleveland 0--The Highlanders held Cleveland (1-2) to minus-nine yards total offense in the first half and 10 yards for the game at Moorpark College.

Royal junior quarterback Wes Lagatta was seven for nine for 94 yards and one touchdown, a 36-yard pass play to Chris Fernandez in the first quarter.

Royal (2-1) added two more touchdowns in the first quarter, a 13-yard run by tailback Jerome Lee and a 23-yard interception return by safety Bryan Fernandez to take a 21-0 lead.

Royal fullback Mike Reddington scored two touchdowns and rushed for 56 yards in 11 carries.

Harvard-Westlake 39, Poly 0--Host Harvard-Westlake (3-0) took a 16-0 lead early in the third quarter when Danny Abdelmalak blocked a punt and teammate Kadar Lewis grabbed the ball and ran four yards for a touchdown.

Harvard-Westlake scored on the first play of its ensuing possession when Don Donester (16 carries for 115 yards) rambled 46 yards off left tackle.

North Hollywood 21, Verdugo Hills 10--Ryan Jones caught two touchdown passes from Patrick Fields and Matt Jones returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown to lead the visiting Huskies (2-1). North Hollywood defensive back William Hamilton added two interceptions in a game that included six turnovers by each team.

Van Nuys 19, Marshall 7--Larry Reed ran for 154 yards and a touchdown in 24 carries to lead Van Nuys (2-1) at Marshall. Reed scored on a two-yard run on Van Nuys’ first possession.

Chris Byfield connected with tight end Jose Cortez for scoring passes of 17 and 32 yards. Cortez had all three Van Nuys receptions for 78 yards.

Quartz Hill 7, Hesperia 0--Punche Tuenge intercepted a pass in the end zone with about one minute to play to preserve the win for host Quartz Hill (3-0).

The Rebels scored when Brad Norris hit Damien Kendridin with a 35-yard scoring pass 15 seconds before halftime. Norris, who completed 13 of 26 passes for 160 yards, led the Rebels on a five-play, 62-yard drive in 38 seconds.

Oxnard 24, Channel Islands 9--Running backs Tim Westbrook and Mike Maddox each scored third-quarter touchdowns as Oxnard (2-1) scored 17 points in the quarter at Channel Islands.

Taj Lewis completed a 42-yard touchdown pass to Eric Duff early in the second quarter to give Oxnard a 7-6 lead.

Channel Islands’ only touchdown came late in the first quarter when linebacker Doug Matthews picked up a fumbled punt at the one-yard line and scored.

Nordhoff 38, St. Bonaventure 7--Josh Hawkins rushed for 210 yards and one touchdown in 17 carries for the host Rangers (2-1). Dallan Rigby added 69 yards in 10 carries and scored on runs of seven and 11 yards. Blake Coleman threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Archie Jackson and a 13-yard touchdown pass to James Colburn.

Jim Lyon scored on a one-yard run for the Seraphs (1-2).

Belmont 34, Grant 20--Ramone Archie rushed for 154 yards and five touchdowns in 23 carries to lead Belmont (3-0) at Grant (2-1).

Grant tailback Di-onte Smith rushed for 196 yards and two touchdowns in 13 carries.

Fillmore 28, Rosamond 22--Punkie Zuniga rushed for 132 yards and three touchdowns in 19 carries for the host Flashes (1-2).

Isaac Jimenez led the Fillmore defense with 11 tackles and two sacks. Rick Vermillion took the kickoff to open the second half 84 yards to give Fillmore a 21-0 lead.

Santa Ynez 40, Moorpark 12--Wide receiver Ryan Smith caught touchdown passes of 25 and 57 yards and ran four yards for another score to lead the Pirates (3-0) at Moorpark. Santa Ynez scored on its first four possessions to lead, 26-0, at halftime.

Wide receiver Jared Kira of Moorpark (2-1) caught three passes for 57 yards, including a 42-yard halfback option touchdown pass from Jose Ceja.

Carpinteria 34, Santa Paula 0--Benji Trembly threw touchdown passes of 55, 15 and 11 yards to J.D. Thompson to lead Carpinteria (2-1) at Santa Paula.

Santa Paula quarterback Ralph Reyes completed 12 of 23 passes for 132 yards with two interceptions. Joseph Jauregui caught eight passes for 92 yards.

Monrovia 18, Hoover 8--Host Hoover (0-3) battled back from a 15-0 halftime deficit when quarterback Alan Lau completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Carlos Valadez (six catches, 110 yards) in the third quarter. Lau completed 10 of 29 for 146 yards.

Hoover running back Hung Huynh (11 carries, 36 yards) suffered an injured left ankle late in the first half and did not return.

East Bakersfield 6, Highland 6--East Bakersfield kicker Chad Hathaway missed a 37-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining at Antelope Valley College.

Highland quarterback Jeffrey Tyler threw a 23-yard scoring pass to Brian Enriquez in the first quarter for Highland’s only score. A pass on the two-point conversion attempt fell incomplete.

Russell Grimes’ 23-yard touchdown catch from Brandon Hankins early in the fourth quarterback brought East Bakersfield even. The conversion kick failed.

Mojave 26, Village Christian 10--Mike Spielman completed a 51-yard pass to Tony Yousif in the second period to account for the only touchdown for visiting Village Christian (2-1). Ignacio Brache added a 27-yard field goal.