Offense Was Big, Defensive Play Bigger

Ventura St. Bonaventure defeated Newhall Hart, 41-34, Friday in a game that was dominated by offense. But it was a defensive play made on offense that may have saved the day for the Seraphs.

With three seconds left in the first half and St. Bonaventure holding a 28-14 lead, the Seraphs’ Chris Green attempted a 22-yard field goal in place of injured Chris Diaz.

Green, a tight end and linebacker, kicked the ball low and it was blocked. Hart’s Kevin Ciccone retrieved the ball and began racing down the sideline toward the goal line.

Green, however, ran Ciccone down from behind and pushed him out of bounds at the St. Bonaventure 20-yard line. By game’s end, Green’s hustle play was as big as any.

Former Seraph standout Whitney Lewis, decked out in his USC garb, was on the sidelines, as was Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, who was wearing a green St. Bonaventure hat.

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One of the top running backs in the season’s early going, Ryan Mole, broke his collarbone with about five minutes left in the second quarter on a two-point conversion during Santa Maria Righetti’s 54-29 victory over Lompoc on Friday.

To that point, he had rushed for 215 yards and three touchdowns in 14 carries and caught a pass for a fourth score. He has 12 touchdowns in three games, and Righetti has outscored its opponents, 169-57.

“We’re projecting [he will be out] six weeks,” Coach Greg Dickinson said.

Dickinson hopes that other aspects of Righetti’s game, particularly the defense, can make up for the loss of Mole. As for running back, Mark Malangko has rushed for more than 300 yards this season as the fly back and in relief of Mole.

“I think we have a quality backup guy,” Dickinson said. “He’s not a true backup in the sense of what we run.”

Righetti always has a man in motion, and Malangko was that man. Now, at tailback he will be charged with helping the offense outscore Morro Bay on Friday.

Morro Bay has its own big back, Joe Garcia, who has rushed for more than 4,000 yards in his career.

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As brother acts go, Jamell and Jesse Murry may not elicit the buzz of, say, Damon and Dion Morton at Riverside North, but Los Angeles Jordan was happy to have them in its 21-10 victory over L.A. Hamilton on Friday.

Jesse Murry rushed eight times for 59 yards and a touchdown and added a second score on a 70-yard punt return. Jamell Murry had 17 tackles and also scored on a 39-yard touchdown run that gave Jordan a 14-10 lead.

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One of the reasons La Mirada defeated Los Angeles Crenshaw, 14-12, Friday afternoon was the play of lineman Shannon Tevaga, who did much of the work to keep Rickie Collins from repeating the success he had against Woodland Hills Taft in the season opener.

Collins rushed for 205 yards against Taft but was limited to 80 yards in 17 carries against La Mirada, with 41 coming on one play.

“He’s really good,” La Mirada Coach John Mele said of Tevaga, a 295-pound lineman headed for UCLA.

“He just clogs up the middle, and he’s also one of the best offensive linemen around. [Crenshaw] is really big, especially up front. Shannon doesn’t let that stop him.”

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It has only freshmen and sophomores on its roster, but that didn’t stop Vista Murrieta from winning its varsity debut Friday against Riverside Notre Dame, 12-7.

And, since the rest of their games are either freshmen or junior-varsity contests, the Broncos will end the season unbeaten in varsity play. They will play a full varsity schedule next season in the Southwestern League.

Robinson Cruz scored Vista Murrieta’s first varsity touchdown on a 44-yard run in the second quarter.

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Too often, 259-yard rushing efforts come in one-sided games between mismatched teams, but that wasn’t the case for Marcus Crockett, who ran for 259 yards and five touchdowns in Playa del Rey St. Bernard’s 35-34 victory over Torrance on Friday.

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No more home games at Westminster High School. At least, that’s the situation for Huntington Beach Ocean View, which now has lights on its football field.

It also gives the Huntington Beach Unified School District another venue in which to hold games, which should reduce the maintenance at Huntington Beach High’s stadium.

Ocean View turned in a less-than-illuminating performance Friday with a 40-0 loss to visiting Mission Viejo Tesoro. The Seahawks are 1-1.

A week earlier, Montebello Schurr won its first night game on campus with a 27-20 victory over Rosemead Bosco Tech.

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Brian Harbin rushed 22 times for 265 yards, including touchdown runs of 68 and 70 yards in the third quarter, to lead San Juan Capistrano Saddleback Valley Christian to a 35-14 victory over Boron on Friday.

Harbin’s teammate, quarterback Coleman Fait, also got the most out of his opportunities, completing four of eight passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns.

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Reseda football player Nick Zemke is in critical but apparently not life-threatening condition today after doctors performed brain surgery on him Friday night at Northridge Medical Center.

Zemke, a junior, collapsed during the second quarter of his team’s 45-6 loss to Woodland Hills El Camino Real earlier in the evening.

“According to doctors, they’re very optimistic he will survive,” Coach Alonzo Arreola said. “He’s stable as far as his vitals are concerned.”

Zemke, who is in a coma, collapsed on the sideline. During a timeout, he told assistant coach Matt Graham that he was dizzy, then lost consciousness.

“There was no specific play or hit that happened on the field that we’re aware of,” Arreola said.

At the time, Reseda trailed, 10-6, early in the second quarter. The game was delayed about 30 minutes, but neither the team nor its coaches got back on track.

“It was extremely difficult,” Arreola said. “The morale of the kids was shattered, and we never gained back our focus.

“As coaches, we were a little bit in disarray too, because we could tell the injury was severe. At that point, football becomes secondary.”

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Rowland Heights Rowland’s 37-0 victory over Baldwin Park on Friday was halted with 45 seconds left in the third quarter after Baldwin Park running back/defensive back Ray Wallace collapsed on the sideline.

Officials stopped the game as paramedics administered to Wallace, then, considering the score, decided against resuming play.

Baldwin Park Athletic Director Mike Zimmerman said Wallace suffered a concussion and had an asthma attack, but was fine upon his release Saturday morning from Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina.

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Times staff writers John Ortega, Eric Stephens and Eric Maddy contributed to this report.