Thomas Leads Dominguez to First Title

It has been 13 years since Willie Donerson took over the head coaching position at Compton Dominguez High, but Friday night he finally reached the top.

The Dons won their first Southern Section football championship with a 42-16 victory over Chino Hills Ayala in the Division II final at Cerritos College.

“There have been a lot of tears,” Donerson said of his 13-year stint. “But it’s all worth it tonight. This is the most important thing I have done in my life.”

Junior quarterback Jason Thomas, whose best sport is basketball, rushed for 74 yards and five touchdowns.

Running back Vincent Starks added 126 yards, including several key third-down runs to keep drives alive.

Thomas had touchdown runs of 10, 9 and 27 yards in the second half--the back-breaker coming on a nine-yard bootleg that put the Dons up 35-10 with 7:12 to play.

“This puts us on the map,” Thomas said.

The knock on the Dons had been that they didn’t have the discipline to win a championship. On Friday they were flagged for four unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, but their speed and overall talent was too much for the Bulldogs.

Two first-quarter interceptions by the Dominguez defense led to scores for the Dons.

A 41-yard field goal by Bulldog kicker Alex Bengard cut the lead to 14-3, but Thomas kept the ball an option for a touchdown near the end of the first half to give his team a 21-3 halftime lead.