Roosevelt Upends Dorsey

Roosevelt converted three mistakes by Dorsey into a 29-21 victory over the defending City Section champion in a nonleague game Friday night at Roosevelt.

Jody Adewale rushed for 116 yards and scored on runs of 31 and eight yards to help give the Rough Riders (4-0) the win. The Dons (1-3) had two botched snaps on punts that led to Roosevelt’s final two scores.

Adewale’s eight-yard run gave Roosevelt a 22-21 lead with 9:22 to play after the first bad snap. Dorsey, coming off a 5-0 loss to Santa Margarita, then had another bad snap on its ensuing possession and Roosevelt’s Antonio Sanchez recovered the ball to start the Rough Riders toward their last scoring drive.

Nathan Holloway threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Sanchez on a reverse with about two minutes remaining to clinch it.

The Rough Riders scored on the first play from scrimmage when Luis Cortez intercepted a Robert Childers pass and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown.

Childers would rebound for the Dons, throwing three touchdown passes to Jerome Johnson for a 21-14 halftime lead. Childers completed seven of 15 passes for 91 yards with two interceptions. Jody Rucks rushed for 105 yards in 19 carries for the Dons.

Rafer Weigel

Newhall Hart 27, Lake Balboa Birmingham 14--Hart’s often overlooked defense came up with the game’s decisive play as linebacker Brian Elledge returned a fumble 46 yards on the first play of the fourth quarter to extend the Indians’ unbeaten streak to 26 games with the victory at Birmingham.

Cody Kase hit Patriot quarterback Ryan Lombardo to jar the ball loose. Elledge grabbed it and ran behind a Hart caravan to break a 14-14 tie.

Birmingham’s only turnover killed its chance at an upset, but offensive breakdowns in Hart territory also were a contributing factor. After the first quarter, the Patriots (2-2) couldn’t score though they crossed midfield five times.

Hart (3-0-1) added the finishing touch when quarterback Sean Norton took advantage of Birmingham’s goal-line defense on fourth down and flipped the ball to a wide-open Kevin Ciccone, who took it in for a 30-yard score with 41 seconds left.

The play capped a 14-play drive in which the Indians kept the ball for more than seven minutes.

Birmingham outgained Hart, 327 yards to 294. Lombardo completed 17 of 29 passes for 230 yards. But all the Patriots could muster was a 59-yard pass play from Lombardo to Brian Baylor and a one-yard touchdown by Dennis Keyes in the first quarter.

Norton completed 18 of 25 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns.

Eric Stephens

Mission Viejo 31, Crenshaw 6--Jeff Ferrier kicked a 51-yard field goal, one yard shy of Nick Gilliam’s school record, and Mark Dunn scored on a 65-yard pass play as the Diablos moved their record to 4-0.

Marty Tadman, a cornerback who is filling in while starting quarterback Josh Rodarmel’s broken collarbone mends, threw only nine passes and two of them were intercepted, but of his five completions, two went for touchdowns. Tailback Ryan Holmes gained 136 yards in 18 carries and scored twice.

John Weyler