Drive or Fly, That Is the Question : Jeremiah Harris, above left, displays the Golden League rule, but would it pass the test in the Marmonte League’s rarified air where quarterbacks like Scott McEwan, above right, are king?

So Golden League offenses move slower than wind-blown tumbleweeds across the Mojave Desert, huh?

I could, on behalf of desert football fans, take exception to such an analogy.

But I won’t. The Golden League, after all, is capable of defending itself.

As opposed the Marmonte, which can’t defend anything.

Numbers of note: Golden League teams have a 23-7 record against nonleague opponents. The Marmonte is a mediocre 14-9-1. Sure, Marmonte teams can pass. Statistics don’t lie. Five of the league’s quarterbacks have passed for more than 2,000 yards.

But let’s see them throw a few wobblers into the desert night, when the winds blow fierce if not freezing.

Golden quarterbacks might only be averaging a little more than 100 yards a game, but their opponents are averaging even less than that.

The weather is one reason, but there are others.

Out in the desert, defensive linemen actually hit the quarterback and players in the secondary know how to cover.

Again, the numbers don’t lie. Highland’s Will Demps has eight interceptions and teammate Marcus Prevost has five, both among the region’s leaders.

Still don’t believe in the Golden rule? Listen to a guy who would know.

After spending several years working in and around the Marmonte League, Jim Bauer found a higher gear once he took over as coach at Littlerock High.

“There’s not near the amount of speed down there that there is in [the Antelope] Valley],” Bauer said.

“And I don’t think people hit as hard [in Ventura County].”

Golden League teams win with hard-nosed defense and smash-mouth rushing attacks.

It ain’t pretty, it might be old fashioned . . . but it works.

Antelope Valley’s Tony Walker (1,086 yards), Littlerock’s Michael Woods (1,031) and Devon Reese (1,018) have eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark.

Palmdale’s Jan Brown (864) and Jason Anderson (836) are within striking distance.

If Brown and Anderson keep rolling, the Golden could become the only local Southern Section league with five 1,000-yard rushers.

“They surf too [doggone] much down there,” Quartz Hill Coach John Albee cracked.

“We don’t throw the ball very well here, but we play tough football.”

Palmdale, Antelope Valley and Quartz Hill defenses finished the regular season ranked Nos. 4, 6 and 12 among Southern Section schools from the region.

The Marmonte’s top defense, Newbury Park, was 20th.

As far as Golden teams being boring, tell that to poor West Covina, which enjoyed a 22-7 lead over Palmdale at halftime of a playoff game last week only to get outscored 41-0 the rest of the way.

Indeed, the Golden League is just beginning to enter its golden age.

Highland and Littlerock, schools that opened in 1989, have combined for 14 victories this season. Highland earned its first playoff victory last week against Santa Monica.

Palmdale has become a boom town, its population rising from 12,277 in 1980 to 111,980 this year.

Lancaster High, with an enrollment of 1,500, will join the league next year.

“I’d like to take an all-star team from the Golden League and play an all-star team from all those other sections,” said Quartz Hill assistant Ken Hettinger, who has coached in Northern California and Arizona.

“We’d kick their [tail].”

Now there’s a fine idea. Hey Marmonte League, meet ya at College of the Canyons.