Nordhoff on Cruise Control

It was quarterback Robert De La Cruz of Cathedral who entered Friday’s game at Nordhoff with the sterling reputation.

But it was running back Jessie Hawkins of Nordhoff who came through with the record-breaking performance.

The senior rushed for a school-record 302 yards and five touchdowns in 34 carries to spark the fourth-seeded Rangers to a 41-27 victory over previously undefeated Cathedral in the Southern Section Division XI semifinals.

Hawkins broke the school record of 271 yards set by his brother Josh in 1994. He scored on runs of six, 12, 31, one and 69 yards.

It was the final touchdown run, a 69-yard burst up the middle with 4:18 remaining, that gave the Rangers (11-2) a 41-27 lead.

Hawkins, who has rushed for 1,888 yards and 24 touchdowns this season, said he was the most surprised about his performance.

“I don’t know how to explain it, it just happened,” Hawkins said.

“It’s something that I didn’t expect. I’m kind of speechless.”

He was equally surprised that his team has reached the Division XI final after losing two of its first three games.

The Rangers have won 10 consecutive games.

“It’s something I didn’t expect at the beginning of the year,” Hawkins said. “But we’re here and it’s awesome.”

The Rangers will be making their third appearance in a division final since 1994. They lost in their previous two appearances in 1994 and 1996.

They made it by containing De La Cruz, who went into the game with a state-record 63 touchdown passes.

De La Cruz completed 18 of 42 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.

Pretty good numbers for most quarterbacks, but below par for somebody who has thrown for more than 8,000 yards in the last two seasons.

“Even through we didn’t get a sack on him, we kept him moving on his feet and that bothered him,” Coach Cliff Farrar of Nordhoff said.

For that matter, the top-seeded Phantoms (12-1) finished with 455 yards, including 297 passing.

The Rangers finished with 391 yards, all but 45 rushing.

But the only thing that seemed to matter after the game was that Nordhoff would be making another appearance in a division final.

Farrar said he doesn’t care who his team plays.

“I don’t care if it’s St. Bonaventure or Banning,” he said. “I’m just glad we’ll be there.”

De La Cruz, who went into the game with 3,711 yards passing, had difficulty solving the Nordhoff secondary in the first half.

He completed only six of 17 passes for 96 yards.

Meanwhile, the Rangers used a straight-ahead rushing attack to surge ahead.

Hawkins did most of the damage, rushing for 120 yards and three touchdowns in 14 carries.