Coaches Roach (L) and Carter were wall-to-wall grins
after quarterback Collin Rugg's 13-yard run.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
Offensive coordinator Tyler Roach, in headphones, and head coach Jason Carter were grinning ear-to-ear.
There were smiles all around.
Their quarterback, Collin Rugg, had just run on first-and-10 from the 14-yard line and was stopped just short of the goal line. Rugg never runs the football on a play designed for him.
La Jolla led Clairemont at the time, 27-0. On the next play, Rugg handed off to Jonathan Levenson for the touchdown and the Vikings went up, 35-0, before the first half was even done.
On an Alumni Night filled with penalties and mistakes by both teams, La Jolla (2-3) ransacked the visiting Chieftains (1-4) 41-0 Sept. 26 to scramble back near .500 and set up a final non-league game at Coronado next week before starting the tough Western League schedule Oct. 17.
Carlton O'Neal (3) slashes for receiving yardage
in Vikings' 41-0 rout of Clairemont.
(Photo by Ryan McCasland)
Cheerleaders and players from the class of 1974 took part in the festivities before a good-sized home crowd. One of the 59-year-olds coached by Gene Edwards, for whom the stadium is named, made the pregame coin toss as his teammates watched, all joking and having a whale of a time being on the field after all those years.
La Jolla's band and flag girls processed on the field during the halftime show, believed to be the first time that has happened in the 92-year history of the school. And kicker Trey Enloe replaced a busy Trenton Fudge, occupied with his increasing duties as a receiver on offense, on punts and place kicks.
Wide receiver Brandon Bonham caught touchdown passes of 44 yards, 70 yards, and 27 yards, all in the first half. Da'Jour Tims caught a 12-yard pass from Rugg on a slant pattern. Late in the second quarter, before his uncharacteristic 13-yard run, the quarterback was 15 of 20 passing for 291 yards. Bonham at that point already had eight catches for 223 yards.
On the Vikings' first score, typical for the evening, Bonham caught the ball over his defender as he ran down the left sideline. The defender concentrated on Brandon and didn't know where the ball was while it was in the air. After the catch, Bonham kept running while his Chieftain nemesis had a partial hold on him but couldn't stop him. That was with only 2:15 gone in the game. The reception completed a seven-play drive covering 66 yards.
On a subsequent pass displaying Bonham's speed, he grabbed a Rugg aerial that flew 20 yards in the air, then ran away from defenders toward the left flag, accelerating over the final 40 yards. Brandon is 6'3". He's not a small man. To see him pull away from defensive backs who are smaller than him who you'd think would be quicker is impressive.
In the second quarter, as La Jolla consistently knocked at the door despite more penalties, the offense called a trick play with a double pass. On first and 10 on the midfield line, Rugg threw a lateral to his left to backup quarterback Berkeley Stobo--who had been warming up on the sidelines--who then fired the ball downfield to a flying Carlton O'Neal. The gain went for 23 yards, setting up touchdown number four. A near-circus atmosphere reigned as it was beginning to look like the Viking offense could do pretty much anything it wanted, if it could just cut down on yellow flags
Copyright 2014 Ed Piper
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