St. Paul (1-1) trailed by three points and drove to the Norwalk 40 when the Lancers’ Elijhaa Penny sacked St. Paul quarterback Paul Telles (5 of 10 for 54 yards) for an 11-yard loss that led to a third and 20.

The Swordsmen picked up eight yards on a screen from Telles to David Cabral before Telles’ high fourth-down pass was bobbled and dropped and resulted in turning the ball over on downs.

St. Paul trailed 24-14 before driving 85 yards on eight plays and scoring on an 8-yard touchdown run by junior running back Michael Ortega (13 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns) with 6:32 left.

The Lancers (1-2) trailed 14-9 to open the third quarter but took the lead when Washington-bound Penny scored from a yard out to cap a 15-play, 64-yard drive with 2:50 left in the third quarter. That put the Norwalk ahead 17-14 after quarterback Adrian Diaz scored on a two-point conversion.

Norwalk got another score when Penny threw a 33-yard option pass to Donovan Gumbs for a touchdown and a 24-14 lead with 8:44 left.

St. Paul rallied from a seven-point deficit in a span of 15 seconds and took a 14-9 advantage at halftime.

The Swordsmen tied the score 7-7 at 7:39 of the second quarter when Ortega broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage for a 52-yard touchdown.

After a kickoff, Lancers senior wide receiver Billy Moore fumbled. The ball was recovered and returned 35 yards for a touchdown by sophomore Albert Llamas to put the Swordsmen ahead 14-7.

Norwalk opened the game and showed little regard for the Swordsmen by driving 69 yards in 14 plays, including a 1-yard run by Penny.

Norwalk’s other first-half score was on a safety with 1:52 left in the half.

Early in the third quarter, the Highlanders (1-2), trailing 14-0, had their best chance to score when after a tackle for a loss by Aaron Porter, teammate Kyle Peko recovered a fumble at the Servite 26-yard line.

The threat ended two plays later with an interception at the Friars 3.

The Friars then used almost nine minutes to drive 87 yards in 19 plays before Connor Loftus kicked a 28-yard field goal with 26 seconds left in the third quarter.

Thirty seconds later, Servite defender Butch Pauu intercepted a shovel pass and ran it 15 yards into the end zone to complete the scoring.

After La Habra was forced to punt on the game’s first possession, the Friars drove 65 yards in seven plays with Sean DeRosa capping the drive by running it in from 2 yards out.

La Habra was unable to get a first down on its next two series, but the Highlanders then stopped Servite twice, on an 11-yard tackle for a loss by Porter and on an interception by defensive back Mike Sparling.

Mesa rushed for 210 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries while Cardinals wide receiver Adam Aguirre accumulated 78 yards with seven receptions from Christian Espinoza, including two touchdowns.

For the Braves, wide receiver Demetrius Jackson caught eight passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns of 52 and 44 yards.

Baldwin Park quarterback Mario Rodriguez completed 15 of 23 passes for 274 yards and two interceptions.

Cantwell built a 21-3 halftime lead and increased it to 28-3 in the third quarter on a 35-yard run by Mesa.

After Jackson’s second touchdown in the fourth quarter cut the lead to 35-17, the Braves opted for an onside kick from kicker Jaime Toscano, which was recovered by Braves outside linebacker Anthony Moran on their own 49-yard line.

The Chiefs defense controlled the first two quarters as it held Bonita to only three points.

Ernesto Ledesma came up with the big play when he intercepted a pass from Bonita’s Greg Spathis and returned it for a touchdown.

“I think they are the toughest team we have played so far,” Bonita coach Eric Podley said.

Although the Chiefs’ toughness showed throughout the first half, they couldn’t hold them to the 12-3 lead they had at the end of the first half.

The Bearcats’ second-half run started with a field goal making it a 12-6 game, pulling them within seven of the lead.

The Spartans trailed 29-20 late in the game ,when quarterback Aaron Cantu scored a 1-yard touchdown run to make it a three-point game.

On the Spartans’ next possession Cantu led his offense 70 yards into Vikings territory, but with 20 seconds remaining they were stopped on an incomplete pass to Alejandro Castro in the end zone on fourth down.

Emerging from halftime down 14-7, Vikings quarterback Dallas Lopez threw three second-half touchdown passes to three receivers to take the lead.

Lopez finished with 13 completions in 22 attempts for 244 yards. Robert Moss had six receptions for 126 yards and one touchdown.

With less than four minutes remaining in the game, Arroyo High scored two touchdowns on consecutive possessions for a come-from-behind, 12-8 win.

Coming into the game, Arroyo (3-0) was averaging 38 points a game.

Montebello’s defense dominated the first half by forcing a fumble and sacking Knights quarterback Steven Rivera twice.

The defense also blocked an Arroyo punt in the second quarter which led to the Oilers’ only points of the game.

Midway through the second quarter, Montebello’s defense knocked Rivera out of the game when he injured his ankle while being sacked.

The Oilers’ touchdown was set up when senior linebacker Sam Aholoka blocked a Knights punt at the Arroyo 19-yard line.

Four plays later, Montebello’s Johnny Salinas scored from 7 yards out and made the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead the Oilers (0-3) took into halftime.

With 6:30 left in the game, the Oilers could have put the game away but failed to score from the 1-yard line.

With 3:37 remaining, Arroyo backup quarterback Eddie Frederico connected with Hunter Duran on a 53-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 8-6.

The Matadores set the tone with their special teams. After the Condors stopped a La Mirada drive at California’s 12-yard line, the Matadores defense forced the Condors to punt.

Marcus Vargas blocked the punt and Isaac Luatua recovered for La Mirada’s first score with 1:46 remaining in the first quarter.

La Mirada put the game out of reach by scoring 16 points in the second quarter.

With the ball at California’s 25-yard line, La Mirada’s Alex Munoz ran for 20 yards before fumbling. Fortunately for the Matadores, Josh D’Ambra recovered the ball in the end zone for a 14-0 lead.

The Matadores then got a safety when an errant punt snap by California went out of the end zone.

La Mirada quarterback Shane Blood connected on 13 of 19 attempts for 139 yards and a touchdown, which went for 2 yards to Tyler Perez. Perez’s score gave the Matadores a 23-0 lead with a minute left in the first half.

Max Gama capped La Mirada’s scoring with a 1-yard run in the third quarter.

The high school football world will sit up and take notice after La Serna (2-1) blasted Division 1 Long Beach Wilson on Friday night, 48-21.

The Lancers ran the ball like a well-oiled battering ram, scoring the first seven times they touched it. They built a 48-0 lead before the second stringers took over.

The highlight had to be the dynamic running of Richard Alvarez, who amassed 107 yards on just nine carries and scored four touchdowns.

Add to that the precision passing of Andrew Buenrostro, who opened with five consecutive completions before spiking one to stop the clock near the end of the first half. He finished with 128 yards on 7 of 9 attempts and threw for two touchdowns.

The interior line play of Phil Alonzo, Nathaniel Hazell, Francisco Aquilar and Alexei Almada opened gaping holes for the Lancers’ backs, who rushed for almost 300 yards.

La Serna didn’t have to punt until the second team offense took over.

Alvarez scored his first touchdown on a 7-yard run with less than two minutes gone in the first quarter. Tavis Guerra then kicked the first of six consecutive PATs.

Alvarez’s other TDs covered 10, 9 and 16 yards. Buenrostros’ scoring passes were to Conner Burke for 15 yards and O.J. Medina for 19 yards. Medina also scored a third-period touchdown on a 6-yard run.

Both teams entered the game with 2-0 records, but the Mustangs prevailed thanks to their impressive offense.

Vega finished with 11 carries for 114 yards. Foley had 10 carries for 66 yards, including 57 yards in a single drive that ended with Foley’s 27-yard touchdown run to end the first quarter.

Pioneer’s Anthony Acevedo responded in the second quarter with a 10-yard touchdown reception on a pass from quarterback Carlos Vasquez.

Vasquez also scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter and finished with 142 yards passing.

Pioneer’s Tony Botello led the Titans with 21 carries for 143 yards.

The Dons (2-1) suffered their first loss of the season because of their lackluster ball-handling, poor special teams effort and Bell Gardens’ resilient offensive attack.

El Rancho fumbled on its first two second-half possessions. The first resulted in a 6-yard touchdown run by Lancers running back Steve Ibarra that increased their lead to 24-14.

The Dons’ poor kick-return play consisted of six mishandlings, including a fumble that cost them valuable field position and led to a Lancers’ go-ahead touchdown in the second quarter. Joshua Adame threw a 35-yard pass to Albert Lara for a 10-7 lead.

The Dons, trailing 30-14 midway through the fourth quarter, got a late touchdown to close the gap when Daniel Moriel capped a 37-yard drive with a 9-yard option keeper.

The Heralds’ Cameron Stanley did a little bit of everything.

He caught nine passes for 167 yards and two of Steven Anderson’s four touchdown passes, as well as making standout plays on special teams.

The flow of the first half was dictated by the defenses, with both teams struggling to find an offensive rhythm.

Near the end of the first quarter, Anderson’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Chacon resulted in the first points of the game. Whittier Christian (3-0), which led 6-3 at the half, broke out with a 51-yard pass from Anderson to Stanley in the third quarter, then went on to score 21 points in the fourth.

Led by linebacker George Flynn’s strong play, the Heralds defense held firm in the second half, surrendering a fourth-quarter touchdown run after the game was out of reach.