Valencia Gets Wake-Up Call

Charles Burnley of Valencia rushed for 221 yards and three touchdowns in 18 carries to propel the Vikings to a 28-26 come-from-behind victory over Oxnard in a nonleague football game at Canyon Country Canyon High on Friday night.

Burnley scored touchdowns on runs of three, 36 and 71 yards in the second half to help Valencia (2-1) overcome a 20-7 halftime deficit.

Valencia, the No. 23-ranked team by The Times, committed six turnovers in the first half. But the Vikings scored on their first three possessions of the second half to take a 28-20 lead after Burnley’s 71-yard run and Leah Shelton’s extra-point kick with 8 minutes 29 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Oxnard, the No. 2 team in the Southern Section Division IV poll, cut its deficit to 28-26 on a one-yard touchdown run by Aaron Brown with 2:37 remaining. But the Yellowjackets were penalized five yards for delay of game before their two-point conversion attempt and then failed to convert after a Brown pass intended for quarterback Tim Eglin fell incomplete.

Brown, who rushed for 213 yards and four touchdowns in 34 carries, took a pitch from Eglin to start the two-point conversion attempt. But Eglin never got a chance to catch the ball as Valencia defender Matt Lien dragged him down from behind. It appeared to be pass interference, but no penalty was called.

Oxnard (2-1) recovered the ensuing on-side kick, but turned the ball over on downs when Eglin was tackled for a five-yard gain on a fourth-and-10 play from the Valencia 48-yard line with 1:46 left.

“We had our chances,” Oxnard Coach Mark Beckham said when asked about the apparent penalty on Lien. “You can’t pin the defeat on that one play. I probably shouldn’t have gone for it on fourth down like I did, but I did.”

John Ortega

Compton Dominguez 24, Inglewood 6--The Dominguez defense forced four Inglewood turnovers and limited Inglewood, which had averaged more than 300 rushing yards a game, to only 153 in a nonleague game between two Division III title contenders.

Dominguez quarterback Anthony Wheat turned two of the Inglewood turnovers into touchdowns with impressive runs. The first was a 34-yard run with 44 seconds left in the first half that gave the Dons (2-1) a 10-0 lead, and the second came on a 13-yard run that gave Dominguez a 17-0 lead with 11:10 left in the third quarter.

Inglewood (2-1) had chances late but fumbled at the Dominguez 19-yard line with 8:52 to play and then fumbled near midfield with 4:43 remaining. Dominguez defensive back Timothy Simmons recovered both fourth-quarter fumbles.

Solomon Jones had the lone score for Inglewood, a seven-yard run with 43 seconds left in the third quarter that pulled Inglewood to within 17-6. Jones finished with 44 yards in six carries.

Wheat, a highly-sought college prospect making the transition from receiver to quarterback, finished with 54 rushing yards in 15 carries for Dominguez, ranked No. 6 in Division III.

Inglewood, ranked eighth in the division, couldn’t get its double-wing offense untracked against a Dominguez defense that stacked the line of scrimmage with eight players on nearly every play.

Tempers flared in the second half and both teams were flagged several times for late hits, illegal blocks and unsportsmanlike conduct.

Eddie Hunter, who at the time led Inglewood with 37 yards in seven carries, was ejected early in the fourth quarter after Dominguez scored to take a 24-6 lead.

Peter Yoon

Covina Charter Oak 19, La Verne Damien 14--Charter Oak’s’ defense came out strong from the start in the nonleague game at Damien High.

Damien (2-1) turned the ball over five times, including four interceptions of passes by Mark Belanger, who was making his first start at quarterback in place of Nick Davila, who left last week’s victory over Rancho Cucamonga with a broken clavicle.

Nick Fuentes returned the last of the interceptions for a touchdown to give the Chargers (2-1) the lead for good.

John Granger had two field goals and Patrick Fuller had two 60-yard kickoff returns that gave the Chargers good field position.

Alex Brondarbit

Los Angeles Loyola 38, Pasadena Muir 6--Bo Renaud rushed for 142 yards in 25 carries and scored three touchdowns to lead the No. 2 Cubs (3-0), who had four fumble recoveries and three interceptions in a nonleague victory at Santa Monica College.

Quentin Daniels, C. J. Wellinger and Phil Gella contributed interceptions for Loyola, which opened a 31-0 lead. Quarterback Richard Irvin completed 28 of 47 passes for 327 yards for Muir (0-3).

Renaud, who has rushed for more than 100 yards in each game this season, scored on runs of nine, five and 17 yards. Jon Eyraud recovered a punt snap in the end zone for another Loyola touchdown.

Eric Sondheimer

Pomona 15, La Puente Nogales 0--Pomona was awarded the victory by forfeit after a flurry of punches and kicks broke out midway through the second quarter of the nonleague game at Nogales High.

With Pomona ahead, 15-0, Nogales fullback Matthew Matavao was penalized three consecutive times for roughing Pomona kicker Noe Casillas and was ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct. On the following play, a bench-clearing melee ensued and the officials ended the game.

Edgar Zuniga