Carson Begins Championship Quest With Shutout

Top-seeded Carson High easily passed its first test in the City Section football playoffs, beating North Hollywood, 44-0, Thursday at Carson.

Carson (9-2), seeking its first title since 1993, had few problems moving the ball against the Huskies (6-5), amassing 337 yards, mostly in the first half when it opened a 37-0 lead.

The Colts finished with 291 yards rushing, led by reserve running back James Robinson with 60 yards and a touchdown in nine carries.

Wide receiver Michael James Smith caught two passes for 46 yards, both for touchdowns.

North Hollywood’s Matthew Hicks, who entered the game with 2,059 yards and 22 touchdowns rushing, had trouble against a quick Carson defense and finished with 67 yards in 25 carries.

Franklin 38, Canoga Park 8--Junior quarterback Daniel Gonzalez completed 26 of 38 passes for 317 yards and four touchdowns to lead the second-seeded Panthers to victory at Franklin.

Receiver Carlos Rodriguez had 10 receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns and running back Joseph Perez gained 197 yards in 26 carries for Franklin (11-0).

Crenshaw 24, Bell 0--Crenshaw quarterback Devin Hollins completed eight of 15 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns to lead the third-seeded Cougars to victory at Crenshaw.

Hollins connected on touchdown pass plays of 33 yards to Terrence Whitehead and 32 yards to Carl Johnson.

Linebacker Chris Bohannon had 10 tackles and intercepted a pass as Crenshaw (9-2) held Bell to minus-75 yards of total offense.

Westchester 44, Roosevelt 19--George Suarez gained 122 yards in five carries and scored three touchdowns as the fourth-seeded Comets cruised to victory at Westchester.

Sam Cunningham gained 98 yards and scored a touchdown, Jason Benson had eight carries for 56 yards and scored two touchdowns and Gabriel Winn added 90 yards and touchdown in three carries for Western League champion Westchester (10-1), which led 31-7 at halftime.

Linebacker Charles Lomack had 13 tackles for the Comets.

Roosevelt finished 7-4.

Dorsey 47, Cleveland 26--Delvin Hudson rushed for 153 yards and three touchdowns and Jason Pickens rushed for two touchdowns and caught a 44-yard scoring pass from Stanley Hollis as the fifth-seeded Dons (9-2) overcame a 14-0 first-quarter deficit for the victory at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

James Bethea of Cleveland ran for 122 of his 125 yards in the first quarter. He scored three touchdowns, including one on a 65-yard run in the first quarter.

Kennedy 69, Sylmar 33--The Golden Cougars (8-3) rolled up 597 yards and scored 10 touchdowns for the victory at Sylmar.

Ruben Zaragoza completed 21 of 29 passes for a school-record 442 yards and five touchdowns, and he ran for three touchdowns.

James Norris caught eight passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 17 touchdown receptions in 11 games.

San Pedro 28, Taft 25--Jabari Meador rushed for 214 yards and three touchdowns to lead the sixth-seeded Pirates to victory at Daniels Field.

Alex Teems scored on a 15-yard run with six minutes left to give San Pedro (9-2) a 28-19 lead.

Granada Hills 27, San Fernando 19--Quarterback Jason Winn didn’t have to live up to the names of former Granada Hills High greats John Elway, Dana Potter and Jeremy Leach on Thursday night.

Winn lived up to his own name by leading a spirited comeback from a 13-point halftime deficit as Granada Hills (8-2) won at home.

With the Highlanders trailing, 19-6, and facing third and 10, Winn found Joey Rodriguez on a corner route for a 54-yard touchdown four minutes into the third quarter.

Winn connected with Rodriguez on a 16-yard pass play later in the quarter and threw a three-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tommy Garagliano.

Garagliano’s extra-point kick gave Granada Hills a 20-19 lead that was extended two minutes later after David Harvey returned a San Fernando punt 40 yards to the seven and fullback Omari Mack bulled over from the one with 20 seconds left in the quarter.

INVITATIONAL DIVISION

Banning 36, El Camino Real 29--James Carter intercepted Jonathan Graham’s desperation pass at the Banning 20-yard line with 1:35 remaining to preserve the top-seeded Pilots’ victory at Banning.

Banning (6-4) played the second half without running back Chris Howard, who aggravated a right knee injury after fumbling with 23 seconds left in the first half. Howard, who has committed to USC, finished with 104 yards and two touchdowns in 14 carries to help Banning take a 28-23 halftime lead.

Palisades 28, Locke 26--Palisades scored two touchdowns in the final 3:21 for the victory at home.

The Dolphins (9-2) trailed, 26-14, when David Koral and Reggie Zeigler connected on a 16-yard touchdown pass play.

Palisades got the ball back by recovering a fumble on its own 34. A 40-yard pass from Koral to Zeigler set up a 10-yard touchdown pass from Koral to Geoff McArthur with 29 seconds left.

Koral completed 21 of 33 passes for 351 yards and two touchdowns. Zeigler had six receptions for 120 yards and gained 62 yards in 10 carries.

Alvin Marshall gained 218 yards in 19 carries and Deshan Cabaong had an 85-yard fumble return for a touchdown and a 31-yard touchdown reception for Locke (5-6).

Gardena 21, Jefferson 7--Dennis Smith rushed for two touchdowns and Milton Grimes scored on a 65-yard fumble return in the third quarter to give the Panthers a 21-0 lead en route to the victory at Gardena.

Gardena improved to 7-3-1. Jefferson finished 3-7-1.

Reseda 14, Manual Arts 7--Jason Wagner rushed for 64 yards and two touchdowns in six carries and Allen Johnson ran for 134 yards in 10 carries to lead the Regents (8-3) at Reseda.

Wagner scored on a 15-yard run with 2:11 left in the first half to give Reseda a 14-7 lead. The touchdown capped a 10-play, 76-yard drive.

Manual Arts (5-6) opened the scoring with 5:40 left in the first quarter when James Finely caught a Marco Aceituno screen pass and ran 86 yards along the left sideline for a touchdown.

South Gate 20, Venice 14--South Gate quarterback Hugo Avendano scored on a nine-yard run, running back Octavio Cortez scored on an eight-yard run and Avendano and receiver Ricky Gutierrez sealed the victory at Venice with a 65-yard touchdown pass play with three minutes left.

Monroe 32, Narbonne 27--DeAndre Phillips caught a 24-touchdown pass from Diego Barba with 1:10 to play to lift the Vikings (1-10) at Monroe.

Narbonne (5-6) trailed, 26-14, after three quarters.

Monroe running back Tyrone Burwell rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns in 28 carries.

Chatsworth 39, Eagle Rock 17--Relying heavily on its running game, Chatsworth scored 25 unanswered points in the second half en route to the victory at Chatsworth.

Quarterback Matt Cassel, who suffered a concussion last week, rushed for two touchdowns and passed for another.

Running back Samuel Wesley rushed for a season-high 181 yards and a touchdown in 23 carries for the Chancellors (4-7).

The Chancellors sacked Torwin Session of Eagle Rock (8-3) six times. Mike Garcia’s sack of Session in the end zone was Chatsworth’s final score.

Marshall 21, Poly 19--The Barristers (7-4) overcame four turnovers and a 10-0 deficit in the third quarter at Poly (5-5).

Trailing 17-7 with 5:27 to play, Marshall quarterback Dave Martinez passed to Mina Boktor for a 13-yard touchdown. Martinez connected with Oktor again for a 46-yard touchdown to give the Barristers their first lead, 21-17, with 2:36 left.