Receiver Nic Skala (11) rises above to clutch a Collin Rugg pass good for six points and an overwhelming 48-6 La Jolla lead over UC in the fourth quarter. The touchdown was one of three for the senior Skala on the night. (Photo by Ed Piper)
"Plethora" was the word for La Jolla in its football attack against the University City Centurions Friday night (Oct. 11). A plethora of everything: offensive fireworks, a fumble run back for a touchdown on defense, a kick blocked on special teams, celebrations and smiles all around. Following what had to be a near-record 39-6 advantage at halftime, the Vikings rolled on to a 63-6 final differential to square their record for the first time this season at 3-3. UC dropped to a lowly 1-5.
La Jolla safety Demarco Bland, during a sideline pause by the defensive unit as the rout mounted in the second half, cheerfully asked an observer, "Are you enjoying yourself?" Obviously, Bland, under normal circumstances a friendly, engaging individual, was encouraged to be even more upbeat by the impressive performance he and his teammates were putting on on the adjoining gridiron.
La Jolla's no-huddle, hurry-up offense rattled off its initial touchdown in machine-gun-like fashion after the opening kickoff, with junior quarterback Collin Rugg distributing passes among three different receivers--Nic Skala, Da'Jour Tims, Carlton O'Neal, then Skala again for the 31-yard touchdown bomb--this all in the first minute and 32 seconds of the ballgame.
The score was followed by an encore touchdown 2:53 later, Eric Tims and O'Neal running the ball, spliced around Rugg completions to Skala of 33 yards and to Brandon Bonham of 39 yards, the Vikes ascending to 12-0. O'Neal took the handoff over the threshold on a run from seven yards out. La Jolla was aided by a 10-yard penalty assessed against UC during the drive, one of many miscues committed by the hapless home team under the pressure of the hurry-up offense.
The Centurions answered with their only score of the evening on a six-yard run. But the Vikings' special teams unit snuffed out the ensuing point-after kick attempt at 4:26 of the first quarter, and the offense would proceed to pile up 683 yards in total offense and close out the pre-league portion of the season in resounding fashion.
Rugg amassed 338 yards passing on 19 of 27 attempts, tossing five touchdowns with no interceptions. This has become commonplace for Collin on a weekly basis. Martin, the all-purpose back, was simply sensational. He stepped up his considerable productivity, taking 23 carries for a whopping 216 yards. He added three receptions for 27 yards for a total of 243 all-purpose yards. Skala, with three touchdown catches, copped 7 passes for 133 yards. Bonham, another favorite target of Rugg, caught three passes for 127 yards. On Bonham's 71-yard touchdown in the first quarter for a 26-6 La Jolla lead, Rugg's pass traveled 31 yards in the air and then Bonham rambled the remaining 40 yards to take it to the house.
Linebacker Anthony Stanley, like Rugg, Martin, and Bonham a junior, piled up tackles in the defensive attack, and noseguard Justin Cook scored his first-ever touchdown, picking up a UC fumble and running it back for the final score with 8:10 left in the game. By then, game officials had mercifully instituted a running clock, in view of the wide margin between the two teams.
La Jolla coach Jason Carter said, "Our (defensive) guys really bought into studying their keys and paying attention to detail" in preparation during the week, which paid off in the dominant performance over the Centurions. O'Neal, who was active in the offense, had an interesting comment. He remembered that after Coach Carter first came to campus last spring, "I hadn't completely bought into the high-tempo, run-up-the-score offense. But when we started running it and I saw it was just attack the defense and whatever they gave us, we could beat them in any way, (I came around)." He's a believer after this game.
Copyright 2013 Ed Piper
