Mission Viejo, Poly Are Rolling

With Concord De La Salle a shell of its former self, the game of the year involving a Southland team now involves two, Mission Viejo and Long Beach Poly on Oct. 1.

Don’t expect to buy tickets at the gate. According to Joe Carlson, Poly’s athletic director, tickets will be available only at Mission Viejo and Poly.

Mission Viejo, which plays twice-beaten and once-tied De La Salle on Oct. 9, and Poly are ranked Nos. 1-2 in the Southland and the state.

The game will be played at Long Beach Cabrillo High because of turf installation at Long Beach Veterans Stadium. Cerritos College is unavailable because Cerritos and La Mirada are playing games there while turf is being installed on those campus fields.

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Fontana Miller’s 70-40 victory over San Bernardino was the 10th-highest scoring game in Southern Section history. Since 1923, only two games have had more points: Bloomington’s 82-62 victory over Artesia in 1994, which is the record-holder, and Bloomington’s 62-49 victory over El Centro Central in 1996.

Erin Madden (173 yards, two touchdowns), Lowell Johnson (168 yards, two touchdowns), Armel Warren (72 yards, two touchdowns) and option quarterback Jaquan Ramsey (43 yards, four touchdowns) had the bulk of 43 carries for 461 yards.

But Miller, which led, 42-32, going into the fourth quarter, lost four fumbles and couldn’t contain San Bernardino’s Richard Murrell, who ran for 185 yards and five touchdowns.

Miller’s Jose Gutierrez kicked 10 conversions and had 11 kickoffs.

“On one hand, you get accused of running up the score,” said Miller Coach John Tyree, who wasn’t happy with his team’s performance, “but when your defense isn’t very good, you’re pulling your hair out.”

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Lompoc kept alive its 14-game winning streak -- tied for the Southland’s longest with Fontana Kaiser’s -- with a 22-21 victory over Santa Maria Righetti. To do so, it came back from a 21-7 deficit in the fourth quarter. Jakob Sims scored from two yards with 50 seconds left, completing a 64-yard drive, and Boo Jackson’s pass to Paul DeVaux provided the two-point conversion. It was Lompoc’s first victory over Righetti since 1999.

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Three of the Southland’s seven longest losing streaks ended Friday. Rialto, which had lost 19 in a row, defeated Victor Valley, 43-6; Compton Centennial, which had lost 19, beat L.A. Murphy, 12-6; and Torrance Bishop Montgomery, which lost 16 in a row, beat Inglewood Animo, 46-20.

Hollywood has the longest losing streak at 34 games, followed by Alhambra Keppel at 29 and La Verne Lutheran at 23.

La Verne Lutheran, which recorded a school-record 10 sacks, gave up a touchdown in the final minute to lose to L.A. Lutheran, 22-16, in its first season of eight-man football.

It has been a good season for ending futility. A week earlier, Riverside Rubidoux defeated Rialto Carter to end its 18-game losing streak, and Riverside Notre Dame ended its 16-game streak with a victory over L.A. Ribet Academy.

The state and Southern Section record is 46 losses in a row by Moorpark from 1972 to 1982, and the City record is 40 by L.A. Fairfax from 1995 to 1999.

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Mission Viejo Tesoro’s arrival as a program became official Friday with its upset of Santa Ana Foothill. With its first group of four-year seniors, the Titans scored a 42-29 victory against an opponent that would be considered an Orange County power. Rick Nelson passed for four touchdowns to Scott McKnight.

“It was a big night for the program,” Coach Jim O’Connell said. “Now we can move on, use that as a real confidence-booster and hopefully take it to another level.”

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Three Dots and a Cloud of Dust: Desert Hot Springs, which won only four games in its first four seasons, has won two in a row and has outscored its opponents, 93-8, behind quarterback David Hamm and running backs Treilan Hunt and Brian Williams.... Chandler Blevins, a junior varsity kicker filling in for injured Logan Royer, kicked a 35-yard field goal with five minutes left to give South Pasadena a 17-14 victory over Glendale Hoover.... Ricky Gabrielson returned a fumble 66 yards for one touchdown and an interception 91 yards for another to help Apple Valley Granite Hills rally for a 31-19 victory over Yucca Valley.... Osaar Rasshan completed nine of 14 passes for 261 yards, the last to Willie Cook with 22 seconds left to give Pomona Garey a 34-31 victory over Littlerock.... Zach Rivas of Dana Point Dana Hills had three interceptions, the last setting up the winning touchdown, in a 22-17 victory over Irvine Woodbridge.... Alhambra’s Jacob Proctor completed 11 of 21 passes for 250 yards and five touchdowns -- two after the score was tied, 19-19 -- in a 31-19 victory over Temple City.

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Correspondent Eric Maddy contributed to this report.