Walker Turns in Fast One to Lift Antelope Valley, 13-7

Not so fast.

Long Beach Poly, possessing as much speed as any team in the state, was horse-corralled by Antelope Valley, 13-7, Friday night in a nonleague game.

Antelope Valley’s speed is wrapped up in one player, tailback Tony Walker. Six minutes into the game, Walker took a pitch, burst through a hole and outran defenders for a 77-yard touchdown, giving the Antelopes a 7-0 lead.

No one expected the score to hold up for long. The Jackrabbits would soon retaliate, either with receivers-track stars Kenyon Rambo and Kareem Kelly, or with tailback Herman Ho-Ching or speedy sophomore Larry Croom.

Wouldn’t they?

Not until Kelly caught a 17-yard pass from Chris Lewis in the end zone with nine minutes to play did Poly score. And that only cut the deficit to 13-7 because David Aranzubia had boomed field goals of 45 and 29 yards for Antelope Valley (4-1).

Down the stretch, the Antelope Valley defense held fast--although an official’s flag played a key role.

A clipping call brought back a 94-yard scoring screen pass from Lewis to Croom on a fourth-down play with three minutes to go. Poly made the first down on the next play, a 14-yard reception by Rambo, and three more completions put the ball at the Antelope Valley 33.

The Jackrabbits (2-3) finally stalled and Kelly was gang-tackled after making a short reception on fourth down.

“I never thought we could hold them to one touchdown,” said Brent Newcomb, Antelope Valley coach. “Look at those athletes.”

Not to mention sheer numbers. Poly suited up 62 players, exactly twice that of Antelope Valley. Running back Eric Mobley injured his left ankle in the third quarter, making the Antelopes even thinner.

Besides Walker’s long scoring run and a 43-yard burst by fullback Gary Hardy, Antelope Valley was held to 89 yards. Walker finished with 112 yards in 21 carries and had punt and kick returns of more than 40 yards.

Ho-Ching rushed for 99 yards in 24 carries, including 89 in the first half.