Brethren Christian remains undefeated

Brethren Christian continues to march onward.

The Warriors won their sixth game of the season and remained undefeated in the process after scoring a 45-16 nonleague victory Friday over visiting Arcadia Rio Hondo Prep at Ocean View High.

BC, ranked third in the CIF Southern Section East Valley Division, led from start to finish and sent the homecoming game crowd home happy. The downside to the victory was the loss to injury in the first two minutes of the second quarter of starting quarterback Bobbie Conklin who hobbled off the field after being hit during a play near midfield. BC Coach Pat McInally said the senior injured his right knee but didn’t know the extent of the injury.

Conklin did not return. He left the game with the Warriors holding a 7-0 lead.

Brethren Christian’s lineup Friday was infused with five transfer players who were eligible to play for the first time this season. One of those players was junior Joey Gutierrez, who came to BC from La Habra, and he took over for Conklin.

Gutierrez had an impressive debut: the first pass of his BC career was a 33-yard strike to junior receiver Josh Gorrell for a touchdown. The play gave the Warriors a 14-0 lead at the 9:50 mark of the second quarter.

Gutierrez completed his first four passes, and finished 12 of 17 for 212 yards with two passing touchdowns and a rushing score.

“I’m happy that we won but we’re very concerned about Bobbie [Conklin],” McInally said. “He’s going to go have his knee checked out, and we’ll find out then how serious it is.

“I thought Joey [Gutierrez] came in and did a great job. He’s a great thrower, and he did a great job in the summer during our passing leagues. He was impressive tonight.”

Before departing the game in the early stages of BC’s second possession of the game, Conklin and the Warriors took the opening kickoff and went 76 yards for the first score. Junior running back Jordan Leonard did most of the work during the 13-play drive, rushing seven times with his final carry a two-yard touchdown run. Bobby Hardigree’s kick gave the Warriors a 7-0 lead.

During the scoring drive, which ate up the first 6:20 of the game clock, the Warriors converted three, third-down and one fourth-down plays.

Rio Hondo Prep (2-3) scored midway though the second quarter to draw to within 14-8. Kares running back Stephen Santizo returned a kickoff to midfield and eight plays later, took a pitch from quarterback Clark Bolinger and scored on a three-yard run. Santizo also ran in a two-point conversion with 6:20 remaining in the half.

BC, however, began to pull away by scoring on its final two possessions of the half.

The Warriors answered the Rio Hondo Prep touchdown in just four plays. The big gain during a 66-yard scoring drive was a 46-yard pass play between Gutierrez and Nathan Sagastume. The junior five-foot-six receiver/running back went high to make a grab at the Kares 39-yard line, then sped away before being tackled at the 18. On the next play, Leonard fought his way to the end zone on one of his many impressive runs of the night, to put the score at 21-8.

Two minutes later, BC got the ball back at its own 38. A 62-yard scoring drive was kept alive when Gutierrez completed a 17-yard pass to senior tight end Ronald Jones on fourth-and-10 that took the ball to the Rio Hondo Prep 16. Three players later, Gutierrez scored on a keeper around right end.

The Warriors expanded their lead to 28-8 with 1:18 left in the half, and took that 20-point cushion into the locker room at the break.

“It was good to get off to a fast start like that,” McInally aid. “They are a school with a great tradition, and they won a CIF title only a few years ago (2012). They are a very disciplined team.”

Rio Hondo Prep received the second-half kickoff and drove down field in 4:30 to score. The touchdown came on an 11-yard pass from Bolinger to tight end Kyle Horton and it pulled the Kares to within 28-16.

They would get no closer.

On the final play of the third quarter, Leonard came up with a game highlight. On a draw play, he took off to his right and sped upfield, bulled over a defender at the Rio Hondo Prep 41, and raced down the BC sideline to the end zone. His 57-yard touchdown run increased the Warriors’ lead to 35-16.

Leonard finished with 174 yards on 18 carries.

“Jordan was magnificent tonight,” McInally said of Leonard. “It’s funny — I had just told him right before that great run that we needed a big run. He answered it.”

Hardigree, who was six for six on point-after conversions, booted a 32-yard field goal with 8:14 left in the game. An interception by free safety Cole Miller gave the Warriors the ball back at the Rio Hondo Prep 40, and BC went on to score with 4:34 left on a nine-yard pass from Gutierrez to junior receiver Jason Fuga.

BC has one nonleague game left on its schedule, an Oct. 16 contest at Los Angeles Dymally.

The Warriors start Academy League play Oct. 24 hosting defending league and CIF-SS East Valley Division champion St. Margaret’s.

“I think we are playing really well right now but one thing we’ve got to do is pick up our play on the defensive line,” McInally said. “That’s one area where we need to improve in.”

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In other games Friday:

•Huntington Beach and Marina faced each other in a Sunset League opener and the Oilers, led by senior running back Hunter Simmons’ four touchdowns, shut out the visiting Vikings, 32-0, at Sheue Field.

Huntington improved to 3-3 overall and retained the Victory Trophy which is awarded to the winner of the game.

Marina fell to 1-5.

•In a Golden West League opener, quarterback Blake Meyer and running back Adel Holmes rushed for touchdowns for Ocean View but the Seahawks (3-3) dropped a 21-14 game at Westminster.