Palmdale’s Defense Does the Trick Against St. Paul, 14-6

Palmdale’s defense kept Santa Fe Springs St. Paul out of the end zone, and that was the difference in the Falcons’ 14-6 victory in a Southern Section Division III semifinal Saturday night at St. Paul.

Palmdale (12-1) extended its winning streak to 10 games and will play in its first section final at noon on Saturday at the Home Depot Center in Carson against defending champion Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (11-2), which defeated the Falcons, 35-21, on Sept. 26.

St. Paul (10-3) was limited to two field goals by Randall Reynoso, whose 40-yarder with 3:13 to play pulled the Swordsmen to within 14-6. Eric Walker then recovered an on-side kick for St. Paul at the 50.

The Swordsmen drove to the Palmdale 16, but Miguel Rios’ pass on fourth and 11 sailed over receiver Phil Molina in the end zone.

Palmdale took a 14-3 lead in the first half on a 10-yard scoring pass from Rodney Trimm to Adrian Jenkins and a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown by defensive end Antonio Bowie. Falcon defensive back Thomas McKay pressured Rios on the play. McKay intercepted a Rios pass in the third quarter.

“Our kids need to celebrate this one,” said Palmdale Coach Jeff Williams, whose team has allowed only 19 points in its last seven games.

St. Paul fullback Matthew Parent had 23 carries for 134 yards, most of them coming in the second half.

-- Rob Fernas

Westlake Village Westlake 38, Moorpark 7 -- Jeff Rapoport rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns in nine carries to help the visiting Warriors advance to their second consecutive Division IV title game on Friday against defending champion Ventura St. Bonaventure (13-0).

Rapoport, a sophomore, scored on runs of four and 45 yards in the first half as Westlake (13-0) defeated Marmonte League rival Moorpark for the second time in four weeks.

Moorpark (9-4) forced Westlake to punt the ball on its first two possessions of the second half. But Brett Westernoff returned an Anthony Lopez fumble 31 yards to the Musketeer seven-yard line.

Rudy Carpenter scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak two plays later to give Westlake a 28-7 lead with 5:33 left in the quarter. Carpenter completed four of seven passes for 119 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 23 yards in nine carries.

Lopez rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown for Moorpark, but the Musketeers had six turnovers.

-- John Ortega

Norco 37, Corona Santiago 13 -- Toby Gerhart rushed for 325 yards and four touchdowns in a Division V semifinal to lift the third-seeded Cougars, who scored the final 23 points after Santiago had closed to within 14-13 midway through the third quarter.

Norco (12-1) will play top-seeded Riverside North (13-0) on Friday in its first section title-game appearance since 1998. The Cougars will be trying to win their fourth section title.

Gerhart, who rushed for a school-record 403 yards when Norco defeated Santiago (8-5) in Mountain View League play, scored on a four-yard run late in the third quarter to put the Cougars ahead, 21-13. He also scored on runs of 35, two and 15 yards and finished with 36 carries.

Terrance Whaley rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown for Santiago.

-- Ben Bolch

Orange Lutheran 48, Hacienda Heights Wilson 20 -- The second-seeded Lancers put the Division VI semifinal away by scoring 24 unanswered points in the third quarter at Walnut High.

Orange Lutheran (13-0) will play top-seeded Hacienda Heights Los Altos (13-0) in the championship game at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Home Depot Center.

After holding a 21-14 halftime lead, the Lancers began the third quarter with a 12-play, 65-yard drive that was capped by Anthony Vernaglia’s 24-yard touchdown reception.

Orange Lutheran got the ball back nine seconds later on Zach Heim’s one-handed interception. On the next play, Vernaglia hit Brendan Circle on a 35-yard touchdown pass after catching a lateral.

Orange Lutheran quarterback Seth Blackamore rushed for 200 yards in 13 carries, including an 85-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, and threw two touchdown passes.

Wilson (10-3) was led by receiver Michael Concha, who had touchdown receptions of 98 and 66 yards.

-- Dan Arritt

Covina South Hills 21, Orange 0 -- The Huskies dominated an Orange offense that had averaged more than 35 points a game. South Hills (12-1) will face San Gabriel (11-2) in the Division VII title game on Friday.

South Hills opened the semifinal at Orange El Modena High with a 10-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a 12-yard touchdown run by Marquies Windbush. The Huskies made it 14-0 later in the quarter on a 65-yard touchdown pass play to Bryan Payton from Philip Guerrero, who completed six of 14 passes for 153 yards.

South Hills added its final score with 9:51 left in the third quarter on a one-yard bootleg by Guerrero.

Justin Jones, who had averaged 164 yards rushing per game, was held to 89 yards in 19 carries for Orange (11-2).

-- Mike Besack

La Habra 14, Fullerton 6 -- Defending champion La Habra escaped after defensive back Richard Salazar recovered a fumble with 50 seconds remaining to turn Fullerton away on a second-and-goal at the Highlander four-yard line in a Division IX semifinal at La Habra.

Second-seeded La Habra (10-3) advances to the Division IX final on Friday to play Anaheim Western (11-2).

Fullerton (11-2), which beat La Habra, 35-3, in its Freeway League encounter, pulled to within one point, 7-6, after quarterback Xavier Hicks’ touchdown pass to Ricky Reynoso with 9:03 remaining. But the Indians missed the extra-point kick.

-- Michael Itagaki