Darkness Lifts at Verdugo Hills

After nearly 1 1/2 seasons of frustration, the outlook is brightening for the Verdugo Hills football team.

The Dons scored their first points of the season--and earned their first victory since 1996--with a 21-14 victory over Marshall last Friday.

This week, Verdugo Hills will play at home under the lights for the first time when the Dons play Lincoln at 7 p.m.

Schools officials are planning a short ceremony between the frosh-soph and varsity games and a possible fireworks show at halftime.

“We’re a small community here, so we’re going to keep it a small ceremony,” Verdugo Hills Principal Gary Turner said. “But we do want to thank all the people who have helped us bring something to the community.”

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Don of the Dons: Bruce Molock would probably prefer to play against Dominguez every week.

The senior running back from Antelope Valley had rushed for 213 yards through three games, but he more than doubled his season output by gaining 233 yards last week during the Antelopes’ 35-21 loss to the Dons.

Last year, Molock rushed for 123 yards to lead Antelope Valley to a 28-25 upset of Dominguez in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section playoffs.

“I don’t know what it is,” Molock said. “I just get a little more fired up for them.”

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Well-positioned: Marcus Crawford of Thousand Oaks might be the best sophomore running back in the Marmonte League, but he is spending his first varsity season making tackles instead of breaking tackles.

Crawford, a nephew of former Dodger outfielder Willie Crawford and former UCLA basketball player Curtis Rowe, is playing defensive end because seniors Wes Cobos and Joey Casillas are entrenched at running back.

“Marcus is very athletic and he has a great future as a running back in our program,” Coach Mike Kelly said. “He wanted to play in the secondary, but we told him that someone as big and physical as he is can do more at defensive end.”

With Cobos having rushed for 498 yards in 66 carries and Casillas adding 260 yards in 39 carries, Crawford (6 feet 2, 195 pounds) has played sparingly on offense, gaining 10 yards in three carries.

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Foothold: The search for a kicker continues at Burroughs.

Jeff Honicky, the regular kicker, broke his foot in week three against La Canada and is sidelined until the regular season finale.

Brian Criscuolo has attempted two extra points since, converting one, but the Indians tried two-point conversions on their last three touchdowns in a 33-7 victory over Glendale on Friday.

“We’re trying to find anybody who can kick around here,” Coach Keith Knoop said.

The next to try will be Keith Jarbo, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound sophomore. Knoop said he looked good in practice, but cites another advantage to using Jarbo.

“He has a size-14 shoe,” Knoop said. “So at least he’ll be able to get a good foot on the ball.”

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Staggering stats: Some offensive statistical notes from Hueneme’s 56-0 nonleague mauling of Atascadero last Friday. . . .

The Vikings’ eight scoring drives averaged 52 yards in 3.38 plays and 1 1/2 minutes.

Hueneme averaged 11 yards per play, had 13 plays of more than 10 yards, nine of more than 15 yards and six of more than 25 yards. The Vikings had two one-play drives and a two-play drive.

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Snap decision: It’s a good thing Monroe relies on a balanced rushing attack for its offense--the Vikings are breaking in a new quarterback.

Starter Diego Barba injured his ankle in the fourth quarter of a 17-13 loss to Grant last week. His backup, running back DeAndre Phillips, was already nursing an ankle injury, and was hurt again during the final play of the game.

So look for tight end David Flores to be taking snaps Friday when the Vikings play Van Nuys.

“He’s a good athlete but more importantly he’s a smart kid,” Coach Sloan Bunting said.

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Return men: Two of the most valuable players in the Northwest Valley Conference will be back after missing games last week.

Howard Jones, who leads Birmingham with 300 rushing yards and starts at middle linebacker, was suspended from school because of a non-football incident. Wide receiver Matt Garnas, who has caught 13 passes for Kennedy, has battled pneumonia all season. Garnas was healthy enough to play but was held out by Golden Cougar Coach Bob Francola.

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Tardy team: Asked what happened to his team in Friday’s 31-19 nonleague loss to Santa Maria St. Joseph, St. Bonaventure Coach Jon Mack paused.

“Would you like the excuse or the bottom line?” he said.

The Seraphs’ excuse was that their bus left late for the game. The team had to compress its usual two-hour pregame routine into less than an hour, despite being granted a 7:45 p.m. kickoff instead of the scheduled 7:30 starting time.

The bottom line was that St. Bonaventure played inconsistent defense, surrendering 160 of St. Joseph’s 200 yards of offense on two drives. St. Joseph managed only eleven completions in 30 passes, but nine of the completions came on third down.

“We went into the fourth-quarter having given up only about 50 yards,” Mack said. “I guess we just wore down.”

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Pickin’ and grinnin’: When the season started, junior Jason Stauffer was listed only as a running back on the Village Christian roster.

His role changed in the season opener, when Stauffer returned two interceptions for touchdowns in a 17-14 victory over Santa Paula.

Stauffer is the only player among 11-man teams in the region to have at least one interception in each of his team’s four games. He has a total of six.

“He had one interception when he wasn’t even in the play,” Coach Mike Plaisance said. “The kid is a magnet.”

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Marshall back: Junior running back Jermaine Marshall has rejoined the Antelope Valley High football team after being dismissed two weeks ago, Coach Brent Newcomb said.

Marshall, who rushed for 1,405 yards and 17 touchdowns last year at Kilpatrick, had 110 yards in 24 carries in two games before being removed from the Antelopes’ roster.

“You go to all these coaching clinics and they talk about giving people a second chance,” Newcomb said. “I’m giving him a second chance. He’s back on the team.”

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Call off the ‘Dogs: Sometimes, you don’t need to wait for the fat lady to sing.

Just ask the Highland cheerleaders, who called it a night midway through the fourth quarter of the Bulldogs’ 71-17 nonleague loss to Clovis West.

“I looked at the clock, there was 7:29 left in the game and our cheerleaders had already packed up and were heading out of the stadium,” Coach Lin Parker said.

Clovis West, ranked No. 1 in the Central Section, wasn’t ready to quit. The Golden Eagles’ starting players remained in the game through much of the fourth quarter and the team finished with 732 total yards.

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Party crasher: With 18 Valley-area teams among the 22 playing football in the Southern Section Division III, the odds are in favor of the champion coming from the region.

St. Paul could prove to be a spoiler, however.

The Swordsmen, ranked 19th in the state, are 4-0, have outscored their opponents, 181-6, and have three consecutive shutouts.

St. Paul is the only non-Valley school to participate in the four-team Mission League. Crespi (4-0), Alemany (3-1) and St. Francis (3-1) are the others.