Laguna Hills’ Jones Runs Wild Again

Bus trouble made it an uphill climb to the stadium for the Laguna Hills football team. Once the game started, Mike Jones made sure it was an easy ride.

Jones rushed for 202 yards in 23 carries and scored four touchdowns to lead the Hawks to a 42-14 victory over host Dana Hills Friday.

The Hawks, who were forced to walk three-quarters of a mile uphill because the buses couldn’t carry the load, were a little sluggish in the first quarter and allowed Dana Hills to score on its first possession when Julio Peraza capped a 12-play, 67-yard drive with a one-yard run.

“I thought we were a little flat coming out,” Laguna Hills Coach Steve Bresnahan said. “We had to walk uphill to get here and we were not as focused as we needed to be.”

Jones, however, appeared focused and ready as he single-handedly marched the Hawks 66 yards and scored on a 49-yard run to tie the score.

Jones put Laguna Hills on top when he sprinted 73 yards with 9:10 left in the second quarter to make the score 13-0.

After a Dana Hills fumble, Laguna Hills marched 43 yards on eight plays and scored when Cory Pardoe ran one yard. Pardoe’s pass to Ryan Johnson made the score 21-7 with 4:06 left in the half.

Jones scored his third touchdown on the first drive of the second half when, after Pardoe threw 60 yards to Saia Makakaufaki, he ran three yards to make it 28-7.

Padoe added a one-yard touchdown run with 7:50 left in the third quarter and Jones added his fourth touchdown when he ran 10 yards with 3:26 left in the game.

Jones, who entered the game as the county’s leading rusher with 991 yards and 12 touchdowns, sat out the fourth quarter, something he has done in all but one of the Hawks’ five games.

“We’re not looking for stats,” Bresnahan said. “We’re looking for team goals and Michael is in agreement with that.”