Another Streaking Fad Ends

Several streaks came to conclusions over the weekend.

Ventura St. Bonaventure had its 43-game winning streak ended by Newhall Hart, 31-6. La Quinta had its 27-game unbeaten streak ended in a 16-0 loss to Murrieta Valley. Brea Olinda had its 14-game winning streak ended by Los Alamitos, 56-10.

And then there was Malibu’s streak.

The Sharks had lost 13 in a row, but ended their frustration with a 43-0 victory over Los Angeles Ribet Academy.

Lars Edmand and Jeremy Kent, who take turns at fullback and tailback, are the only holdovers from Malibu’s last victory, nearly two years ago against Santa Clara. Coincidentally, despite a 1-8-1 record that year, Malibu qualified for the playoffs and lost, 69-7, to St. Bonaventure.

“You have to hand it to the kids,” Coach Rich Lawson said. “I have 13 seniors [among the 19 players] and they all got their teeth kicked in last year.”

The victory marked Malibu’s first shutout and the first time it scored more than 35 points in seven seasons, all under Lawson.

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Pivotal in Fontana Kaiser’s 24-21 upset of Riverside North, The Times’ then-No. 9 ranked team, was Steve Sturdivant’s fourth-and-six pass completion to Antoine Caton for a first down late in the game.

Sturdivant followed with a 36-yard pass to Caton, and from the two-yard line, handed off to Allen Wade for the game-winning score with 55 seconds left.

But it almost didn’t happen that way. Kaiser Coach Dick Bruich called for a timeout to pull his punting team off the field on fourth down.

His decision resulted in an upset of the Southern Section’s defending Division V champion, another notation on a resume that includes 208 victories and Division I titles at Fontana in 1987 and ’89.

“It means absolutely nothing,” Bruich said. “It won’t help us get in the playoffs and it won’t help us win league. Hopefully, it makes us a better team, but our goal is to be a good team in Week 6 [when league play starts].

“My resume is so old,” Bruich said, “it’s printed on yellow paper.”

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Valencia’s 63-28 victory over Newbury Park left people gasping as they watched the teams score almost at will and combine for nearly 900 yards of offense.

Maybe no one was more short of breath than Valencia’s Kevin Crane, who returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown and the next kickoff 91 yards for another touchdown.

“I’ve never seen that happen before, a guy returning back-to-back kickoffs for a touchdown,” said Brian Stiman, in his ninth season as Valencia’s coach.

Crane later added a 31-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Stephen Wright, and a 20-yard interception return for a score. Teammate Charles Burnley scored three touchdowns, on runs of 25, 25 and 50 yards, and gained 190 yards rushing.

Valencia led at halftime, 42-21, and the combined 63 points in the first half was the third-best total for a half in Southern Section history, matching a 1996 game between L.A. Cathedral and Bosco Tech. The record is 84, set by Bloomington and Artesia in 1994.

In a losing effort, Rudy Carpenter of Newbury Park completed 22 of 43 passes for 378 yards and four touchdowns. He also threw three interceptions. Justin Cox had eight catches for 170 yards and three touchdowns.

“I think the game left everyone exhausted because they thought it was never going to end,” Stiman said.

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Robbie Dubois, The Times’ 2001 Orange County player of the year, made the four-hour drive from Fresno on Friday to see his high school team, Mission Viejo, play Santa Ana Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium. But the running back was running late and caught only the last two minutes of the Diablos’ 21-19 victory.

“Judging from the last two minutes,” said Dubois, who is a redshirt at Fresno State, “they looked pretty good.”

Dubois might not have been so complimentary had he seen all the game. Mission Viejo recorded its 16th consecutive victory despite some worrisome developments:

* The Diablos had three extra-point kick attempts blocked, opening the door for Mater Dei to attempt a late two-point conversion that would have tied the score had it been successful.

* Starting quarterback Matt Uritis, filling in for injured Josh Rodarmel, completed one of six passes for one yard and had two passes intercepted. Uritis also fumbled twice, though he recovered the ball each time. Rodarmel is expected to return in about a month.

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Sophomore Aaron Ware, who suffered a muscle strain in his hip in the season opener--albeit after gaining 223 yards in 11 carries--sat out Westlake Village Oaks Christian’s 36-3 victory over Sun Valley Village Christian on Saturday. He is likely to return to the lineup Friday against Canoga Park.

Senior Adam Richter took care of the rushing duties, gaining 130 yards and touchdown; he gained 158 in the opener against Santa Ana Calvary Chapel.

Oaks Christian ran the fumblerooski successfully again Saturday night, with offensive guard Jordan Drake running 35 yards untouched for a touchdown.

Bill Redell-coached teams have scored more than 10 touchdowns using the play, in which the ball is hiked to the quarterback, who places it on the ground under the center, with the guard coming around to pick it up.

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In Corona Centennial’s 70-0 victory over Manual Arts, the Huskies led at halftime, 49-0, scored on every possession except their last, when they let the clock run out at the Manual Arts 12-yard line, and played with a running clock in the second half.

Terrell Jackson gained 239 yards in 18 carries and scored six touchdowns, on runs of 18, 10, 42, one, seven and 23 yards. Centennial has outscored its two opponents, including Rialto Eisenhower, 119-0.

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Senior inside linebacker Dale Mullins of Murrieta Valley suffered a broken tibia and fibula when his left leg struck the knee of teammate David Rippey during their victory over La Quinta. Mullins was a first-team All-Southwestern League player last season.

“We’re hoping he can come back in eight weeks and be ready for the playoffs,” Coach Wally Clark said.

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It was a tough night for Oak Park quarterbacks Peter Burns and Nolan McNair, who each left with injuries in a 21-0 loss to Calabasas. Burns suffered a bruised elbow, and McNair broke his collarbone after a 22-yard run.

“We really don’t have a third-string QB, so we put Burns back in the game after McNair got hurt,” Coach Dick Billingsley said. “But he got hit again, so we took him out and put two running backs and a fullback in the backfield and ran the single wing.”

Burns should be back for the game Saturday against L.A. Baptist, and tight end Peter Neff, who was the junior varsity quarterback last season, will become the backup. McNair will be out six weeks.

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Staff writers Ben Bolch, Eric Sondheimer and Peter Yoon contributed to this report.