Highland Runs Littlerock Ragged, 40-14

Highland High’s overall record isn’t much to look at, but its 40-14 victory over Littlerock on Friday night was a thing of beauty.

The Bulldogs (4-3, 2-0 in league play) dominated the defending Golden League champions, out-gaining the visiting Lobos, 358-164, and keeping their vaunted offense off the field much of the game.

Highland ran 72 plays to Littlerock’s 36 and limited the Lobos to only 95 yards before reserve John Ford broke loose for a 69-yard touchdown run with less than three minutes left.

“We ran a good ball control offense and kept the ball out of their hands,” said Coach Lin Parker of Highland. His team’s losses have come against Valencia, Clovis West and Corona Centennial, which were a combined 16-2 entering Friday.

Littlerock (5-2, 1-1), which escaped an upset last week in a 9-8 league-opening victory over Quartz Hill, didn’t get a first down until the final two minutes of the first half.

“Highland played like champions and we got a whipping tonight,” said Coach Jim Bauer of Littlerock.

Rodney Woods of Littlerock, the league’s back of the year last season, was limited to 62 yards in 20 carries, falling short of the 100-yard mark for the first time this season and failing to reach 1,000 yards this season. He has 980 yards and 12 touchdowns, including a four-yard scoring run in the third quarter that cut Highland’s lead to 9-6.

The Bulldogs answered with 31 consecutive points, including 24 in the fourth quarter.

Highland, which hasn’t been a factor in the league race since sharing the title with Antelope Valley and Palmdale in 1996, is positioned to battle Antelope Valley (3-4, 2-0) for the championship. They meet the final week of the regular season.

Woods entered needing 82 yards to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for the second consecutive season, but it was Highland’s running game that stole the spotlight, churning out steady gains against the league’s top defense.

“We let them know that Rodney Woods isn’t the only running back in this town,” said Kevin Morris of Highland, who gained 123 yards in 19 carries and scored on an eight-yard run.

Tyrone Brown added 77 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and Josh Mejia ran for 76 yards and another score.

Quarterback Jeremey White scrambled for a four-yard score, and Jose Duarte added field goals of 38 and 26 yards, giving him eight in 10 attempts this season.

The night was perfect for the Bulldogs until the 8:31 mark of the fourth quarter, when defenders John Tanner and Paul Soto collided in pursuit of Woods.

Tanner lay on the field for 22 minutes with what was believed to be a broken leg.