Coach Does Balancing Act at Norco as Star’s Father

Toby Gerhart rushed 318 times for 3,035 yards and 32 touchdowns in 11 games last season for Norco. During the off-season, his father became the Cougars’ head coach. He was bound to carry the ball 40 times a game, right? Wrong.

The junior, who set a sophomore state record for rushing yardage, carried 19 times for 117 yards in Norco’s 20-14 victory over Rialto Eisenhower on Friday. Sophomore Jordan Campbell carried 14 times for 83 yards, scoring the winning touchdown and a two-point conversion. It was a surprising display of balance.

“Toby said that he didn’t run very well, but I told him it’s the most yards he’s ever had in a Game 1,” Coach Todd Gerhart said. “He missed the first four games as a freshman and the first three as a sophomore because of injuries. He’s way ahead of pace.”

*

Concord De La Salle lost again -- this time to Clovis West, coached by former Santa Margarita coach Jim Hartigan.

The 30-12 loss Saturday ended the Spartans’ state winning streak at 149 games, one week after its national-record streak was ended at 151 games by Bellevue (Wash.). De La Salle (0-2) plays host to Mission Viejo, ranked No. 1 in the Southland by The Times, on Oct. 9.

*

The longest winning streak in the Southland came to an end at 21 on Friday, when Hacienda Heights Los Altos, the two-time defending Southern Section Division VI champion, lost to host Lompoc, 19-14.

*

One of the most surprising results, and margins, of the weekend may have been Harbor City Narbonne’s 21-7 victory over Los Angeles Dorsey, a City Section semifinalist last season.

Trevonne Tytus and Major Culbert each rushed for 88 yards, and Jovanne Ford returned an interception 18 yards for a score. Tytus also scored. The Gauchos’ defense had eight sacks, three by Chris Roy.

Notable were Dorsey’s injuries, but Narbonne Coach Manual Douglas said two-way all-league starter Marquies Delgado, a running back/defensive back, was knocked out of the game on the fourth play.

“We all have injuries,” Douglas said. “It’s the nature of the game.”

*

Senior quarterback Matt Abbey of La Canada St. Francis completed 18 of 22 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns against Arcadia, the most passing yards by a St. Francis quarterback since John Sciarra in 2000.

“He’s very underrated,” Coach Jim Bonds said. “He’s head and shoulders above what he was last year.”

Abbey completed only 44% of his passes last season.

*

Sophomore running back Raymond Carter touched the ball only four times for Crenshaw on Friday, but one was a five-yard touchdown run with 43 seconds left, and another was the ensuing two-point conversion that gave the Cougars a 21-20 victory over then-No. 22 Woodland Hills Taft.

Carter, the backup tailback, was in the game because starter Rickie Collins needed a breather after he carried on eight of Crenshaw’s previous 12 plays. Collins finished with 143 yards in 31 carries.

“All I wanted to do was get in the end zone,” Carter said. “That was my focus.”

*

Three Dots and a Cloud of Dust: Los Alamitos’ Orlando Scandrick caught 10 passes in Zero Week against Goleta Dos Pueblos, none against Mission Viejo.... The new Riverside King stadium was the site of two games over the weekend, and each winner scored only 11 points. King beat Ramona, 11-6, and Moreno Valley Rancho Verde beat Riverside North, 11-0.... Hemet’s Brandis Dew passed for six touchdowns in a 42-29 victory over Palm Springs.... Fullerton’s Xavier Hicks rushed for 90 yards and two touchdowns, passed for 74 yards and intercepted three passes in a 28-13 victory over La Mirada.

*

Times staff writers Eric Sondheimer and Peter Yoon contributed to this report.