FOOTBALL ROUNDUP : Ontario Christian Wins Handily

Tom Vanden Berge had only four carries on the night, but he definitely made the most of them.

Vanden Berge rushed for 134 yards with two touchdowns to lead visiting Ontario Christian to victory over Calvary Chapel, 35-9, in front of a homecoming crowd of 700 at Orange Coast College.

The Knights (6-0, 1-0) took advantage of two early fumbles by Ken Nash, converting them into two first-quarter touchdowns for a 14-0 lead.

After recovering the first fumble on Calvary Chapel’s six-yard line, Ontario Christian’s Brett Kennon scored from one-yard on the second play of the drive with seven minutes remaining in the first quarter. Kennon rushed for 68 yards in 14 carries.

Vanden Berge made it 14-0 with a 16-yard touchdown run on the final play of the first quarter to cap an eight-play, 66-yard drive.

Calvary Chapel scored in the second quarter on a 24-yard field goal by Aaron Fountain, cutting the lead to 14-3.

Ontario Christian put the game away, scoring 21 consecutive points to take a 35-3 lead.

Quarterback Harian Miersma threw for 119 yards with two touchdowns (23 and 35 yards).

Calvary Chapel’s fourth-string quarterback Mark Echan did not play like a fourth-stringer. He completed 11 of 16 passes for 161 yards, including 10 for his first 11.

Running back Dave Khun scored Calvary Chapel’s only touchdown, a 27-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Khun finished with 87 yards in 18 carries.

In an Arrowhead League game:

Temecula Linfield Christian 7, Southern California Christian 0: Kelly Sousa’s 39-yard punt return in the third quarter led the Lions (5-1, 1-0) past the Flames (1-5, 0-1) in the Arrowhead League opener at Cerritos Valley Christian High.

Sousa’s score came with 3 minutes 4 seconds left in the third quarter. He took Jeremy Smith’s punt at the Flames’ 39-yard line, broke a tackle at the 30, and ran down the left sideline for the touchdown.

“We’ve been weak on special teams all year,” SCC Coach Bert Esposito said. “We just broke down on that play.”

The Flames were unable to generate much offense, but had a few scoring chances in the final quarter. Manny Marquez recovered a Linfield fumble near midfield with 10:52 left to play, but the Flames were unable to convert and had to punt.

With four minutes left, Brett Lautt blocked a Linfield field-goal attempt and the Flames got the ball on their 30. After driving to the 45, Smith went 45 yards to the Lion 10, but the play was called back for holding.

David Cleveland sacked SCC quarterback Steve Schinofen on fourth down two plays later and Linfield ran out the clock.

“We played well enough to win,” Esposito said. “I still think we have a good team, but things aren’t going our way.”

The Flames were without starting fullback Ron Wood. Esposito said Wood might have a stress fracture in a lower vertebrae. They also lost backup fullback and starting linebacker David Enda in the third quarter. Enda was shaken up trying to make a tackle and was later taken to the hospital when he told Esposito he couldn’t see out of one eye.

In nonleague eight-man football:

Heritage Christian 48, Temecula Bundy Canyon Christian 0--David Acheson rushed for 136 yards in 11 carries and scored three touchdowns for host Heritage Christian (1-4). Jason Burns added 79 yards and two touchdowns in six carries, and had 60 yards receiving.