Sylmar Makes Easy Work of of Van Nuys

When Van Nuys reviews film of Friday night’s Valley Pac-8 Conference game against Sylmar for highlight material, it can turn off the VCR early. The Wolves can cut the power before the end of the first quarter.

Three minutes 13 seconds into what turned into a 48-12 blowout by the Spartans, Federico Arroyo kicked a 22-yard field goal to narrow Sylmar’s lead to 14-9 and give the home fans some hope.

That’s when Van Nuys film editors can press the “off” button and dump the video in the trash--or mail it to Sylmar.

Junior running back Durell Price, who rushed for a career-high four touchdowns, ran 16 yards up the middle for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter: 21-9, Spartans.

Davon Young returned an Arroyo punt 62 yards for a touchdown. Two Van Nuys plays later, Tyrone Morgan went airborne with tailback John McPherson for a pass, snatched it out of McPherson’s hands and raced 40 yards for a touchdown with the interception: 34-9, Spartans.

Still in the second quarter--and following a diving interception by Young--Price ran 49 yards up the middle. He slipped three tackles and scored: 48-9, Sylmar.

This was supposed to be a showdown but the Van Nuys defense failed to show up, despite the high stakes involved. Both teams were 3-0 in conference play. Sylmar, ranked second in The Times’ Valley poll, improved to 7-0, 4-0. Van Nuys is 5-2, 3-1. The only damage inflicted by Van Nuys, which missed running back Larry Reed (13 touchdowns, knee injury), was that it ended Sylmar’s four-game string of shutouts.

That didn’t faze Price, who had 143 yards in 13 carries.

“Tonight was the start of us peaking,” Price said. “We had a couple letdowns that we can’t afford in the playoffs. Other than that, I’m pretty satisfied with the score.”

Floyd Chalk of Sylmar gained 99 yards in eight carries, 80 on his first three runs.