Righetti’s Mole Gains 350 Yards in 62-28 Victory

The season has just begun but Ryan Mole is in mid-season form.

Mole rushed for 350 yards and four touchdowns in 16 carries and added a 32-yard touchdown on a shuffle pass, leading Santa Maria Righetti to a 62-28 romp over Chino Hills Ayala in a season opener for both teams Friday night at Ayala.

Mole set the tone early with a 61-yard touchdown run on Righetti’s first play from scrimmage. He later added touchdown runs of 70, 69 and 68 yards -- all coming on one-play drives. He finished with 408 total yards for Righetti, which outgained Ayala, 641-317.

“He was dynamic tonight,” said Coach Greg Dickinson of Righetti, which is ranked No. 4 in the Southern Section’s Division IV poll.

The 350 yards is a career high for Mole and Dickinson said it was a school record.

Ayala, ranked No. 7 in Division II, pulled to within 28-21 when quarterback Bryan Waggener plunged into the end zone from one yard with 8:14 left in the third quarter, but Mole took over, scoring three times in a seven-minute stretch spanning the third and fourth quarters.

“I just came out and did my best,” Mole said. “I didn’t think we would do this good this early in the season.”

Mark Malangko had 124 yards and two touchdowns in four carries and also returned the second-half kickoff 93 yards for a score for Righetti. Waggener completed 10 of 17 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown and K.C. Asiodu added 51 yards and a touchdown in six carries and caught five passes for 138 yards and a touchdown.

Peter Yoon

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Los Alamitos 49, Culver City 0 -- What do you do when your best players are receivers and you’re facing one of the best secondaries in the nation?

You throw to them. Often. And cross your fingers.

Of course, none of that helped host Culver City. Not against Randy Estes, Jeff Minter, Antoine Cason, D.J. Dykes and Co.

They cast a net on Culver City receivers Michael Bumpus and Jaison Williams -- the Centaurs attempted only three of 20 passes to anyone other than those two -- and the Griffins, ranked No. 1 in the Southland by The Times, dominated last year’s Southern Section Division X semifinalists.

Secondary? Bumpus noticed more than the secondary.

“Their defensive line is just amazing,” said Bumpus, a preseason All-American who caught only three passes for 19 yards. “They’d penetrate and we’d get no time. The defensive backs are quick and break on the ball. Their linebackers are the best we’ve ever seen.”

Linebackers Sean Clark and Nathan Quinn had interceptions -- Clark returned his 59 yards for a touchdown -- and the defensive front sacked Kris Cueva four times. As a unit, they limited the Centaurs to 59 yards rushing in 25 carries and 28 yards on five-of-20 passing. Los Alamitos had 355 yards of offense.

“They got big players, but today, their big players didn’t come through for them,” said Estes, who returned one interception for a 31-yard touchdown and ran for scores of three and 38 yards.

“We talked about [Bumpus and Williams] from the first time we knew we were going to play them. We wanted to come out here and prove what we’re all about.” On offense, Jimmy Barnes, son of Griffin Coach John Barnes, completed 12 of 18 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown in his debut. Cortes Rice rushed 21 times for 98 yards for Los Alamitos

Martin Henderson

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St. John Bosco 49, Westchester 12 -- Patrick Cowan, a 6-5 senior quarterback, ran for three touchdowns and passed for another in an impressive debut for the Braves.

Cowan, the younger brother of UCLA freshman receiver Joe Cowan, scored on runs of 11, one and three yards and passed for a five-yard score. Terrance King rushed for 97 yards and one touchdown in 17 carries.

-- Eric Sondheimer