Harvard-Westlake Wins Easily in Camino Real Debut

Harvard-Westlake High made its Camino Real League debut with an impressive 31-6 victory over Cantwell-Sacred Heart on Saturday at Harvard-Westlake.

Harvard (4-1-1), voted out of the Division III Mission League after last season, dominated Cantwell (2-4), a favorite to contend for supremacy in the Division IX Camino Real League.

Harvard’s defense allowed only 19 yards passing and did not allow a touchdown. The Cardinals scored on a 26-yard interception return by Andrew Ybarra in the first quarter and did not threaten again.

For Harvard, which amassed 223 yards, the victory came one week after an emotional upset of Mission League power Notre Dame, the school’s first victory over the Knights.

“I half-expected the kids to not be very sharp after last week,” Harvard Coach Dave Bennett said. “We did show a little bit of a letdown. We didn’t seem to execute as well as last week.”

Junior tailback Abed Abuszleh scored a pair of touchdowns on one-yard runs, and junior Merlin De Martinis added a pair of touchdowns, the first on a 22-yard interception return to open the scoring three minutes into the game.

Abuszleh, who rushed for a game-high 83 yards in 18 carries, left midway through the third quarter because of an injured left shoulder.

De Martinis replaced him and ran 11 yards for a touchdown to close out the scoring with two minutes to play.

Senior quarterback Derek Lemkin completed seven of 17 passes for 79 yards.

Senior Kevin Goldfein caught five passes for 41 yards.