Guards find balance in win, 55-18

Jeff Tully

Bellarmine- Jefferson High quarterback Brendon Doyle waited three

games to make a big impact with the Guards’ offense.

Graced with a devastating running game, there wasn’t a need for

Doyle to throw much, as his team rolled to two victories to begin the

season.

However Saturday, Doyle got into the mix in a big way in a

nonleague game against Claremont Webb, helping Bell-Jeff to a

convincing 55-18 victory at Memorial Field.

Doyle -- a 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior -- completed seven of nine

passes for 175 yards and had three touchdowns and no interceptions in

a balanced Guard offensive attack.

The Guards also were lethal on the ground, as junior running back

Derek Leiphardt rushed for 242 yards in 11 carries and scored three

touchdowns. He had scoring runs of 72, 28 and 70 yards.

In three games, Leiphardt has 660 yards in 27 carries -- a 24.4

yards-per-carry average -- and 10 touchdowns for Bell-Jeff (3-0),

which is ranked No. 7 in CIF Southern Section Division XII.

“I was just waiting my turn to help out the team as much as I

can,” Doyle said. “It didn’t matter that much that I didn’t get to

throw in the first two games, as long as we won.

“But it was nice to get back into things and contribute a little

more than I have in the first two.”

In throwing touchdown passes of 64 and 29 yards to Matt Magallon,

and one for five yards to Alex Rivas, Doyle was surprised at Webb’s

defensive coverage. On all of the scoring passes, the Bell-Jeff

receivers were wide open, allowing Doyle to easily hook up with his

intended targets.

“When I dropped back to look for my receivers, I couldn’t believe

it,” said Doyle, who kicked an extra point and threw for a second.

“There were no [Webb] players around our guys. I was really surprised

at how open they were. I just wanted to make sure I got the ball to

the receivers.”

Doyle was kept busy against the Gauls, as he also did the punting

for the Guards and had an interception from his safety spot.

Although Webb (1-1) had its problems on defense, the team had a

decent offensive effort, led by wide receiver Blake Crawford.

Crawford caught two touchdown passes (74 and 29 yards) from

quarterback James MacArthur.

MacArthur was constantly hounded by Guards’ defenders, as he

completed 12 of 30 passes for 202 yards and had two touchdowns and

one interception.

Magallon caught five passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns.