Friday Final: St. Francis ends La Serna’s hex; La Mirada bounces back in a big way; Schurr shuffers first loss

St. Francis rallied to beat La Serna Friday, ending the Lancers two-game win streak over the Golden Knights. (Photo by Chris Burt)

St. Francis rallied to beat La Serna Friday, ending the Lancers two-game win streak over the Golden Knights.
(Photo by Chris Burt)


ST. FRANCIS 24, LA SERNA 21

WHITTIER — La Serna High School’s hex over St. Francis is over.
Michael Bonds threw for 299 yards and three scores, including the game-winner to Blake Howard with 2:25 left, and the Lancers’ Justin Moreno was sacked by Matt Barriga with 10 seconds left to give the Golden Knights a 24-21 victory over La Serna at Cal High.
It was the Golden Knights’ first win over the Lancers in the past three season. The previous two games were in the CIF Southern Section Southeast Division playoffs.
The Lancers, who slipped to 2-1, had a chance to win it after driving to the Santa Fe 4 with less than 20 seconds left. But La Serna’s Matthew Marshall was stopped for no gain with 16 seconds left before Moreno was sacked at the 16.
La Serna tried to run one last play, but committed a false start, resulting in a 10-second runoff to end the game.
St, Francis (3-0) went 64 yards for the winning drive for a 24-21 lead with 2:25 left. The Knights looked Golden with a little trickery from coach Jim Bonds. He called for fake punt on fourth-and-6 from his 40 with just over four minutes left. Matt Bazarevitsch passed 25 yards to Tony Norton for a first down at the La Serna 31.
Michael Bonds then followed with passes of 7 and 4 yards before tossing 9 yards to Howard for the game-winner with 2:25 left.
Daniel Scott then intercepted a Moreno pass at the St. Francis 25 with 1:41 left to apparently end it.
But La Serna had one last try up its sleeve. The Lancers got the ball back with just over a minute left. Moreno passed 44 yards to Calvin Salcido to the St. Francis 29 before the Lancers came up short down the stretch.
St. Francis coach Jim Bonds: “It was huge to get the win here. We had lost to them two years in a row in the playoffs. They ended our season and made us turn in our gear. That’s the worst feeling every year. But tonight’s game … to commit four turnovers and still win a high school football game. That’s hard to do. I give our guys a lot of credit. They never quit. Big win.”
— Stephen Ramirez
CALIFORNIA 34, ROSEMEAD 21
Led by running back Andrew Reyes’ big night on the ground, California High knocked off Rosemead 34-21 in a nonleague game on Friday night at Rosemead.
Reyes rushed for 249 yards and reached the end zone four times. He scored three of the touchdowns on the ground and one on a 54-yard screen pass.
California improved to 3-1; Rosemead slipped to 0-4.
While Reyes carried the Condors (3-1) on offense, the defense halted Rosemead’s second-half explosion.
Junior quarterback Alex Argueta lifted the Panthers when he entered the game in the second quarter. Argueta completed 16 of his 23 pass attempts and tossed three touchdowns.
Argueta helped his team climb back from a 21-7 halftime deficit. After the Panthers recovered a fumble to open the second half, Argueta threw a 12-yard touchdown to wide receiver Darien Camacho, then a 13-yard score to Elisha Garner to even the score at 21.
But Cal answered Rosemead’s two second-half touchdowns on the very next drive by handing the ball to Reyes. He finished the series with 70 yards and a go-ahead score.
Cal’s Andrew Reyes: “We’ve been in these types of games before. Our team just doesn’t give up, we know what we’re capable of and we executed.”
— Wil Hernandez
ROUNDUP: LA MIRADA GETS REVENGE ON SAN CLEMENTE, 43-14
The Matadores scored 36 consecutive points to break open the nonleague game.
The game was tied at 7 and La Mirada (2-2), playing its fourth consecutive Orange County powerhouse team, took control.
Elijah Hicks returned a punt 88 yards for a touchdown. He caught three passes from Tristan Meyer, two for touchdowns. Meyer completed all six of his pass attempts, for 90 yards.
— Angel Gutierrez
MONROVIA 26, WHITTIER 14
The Wildcats made huge fourth-quarter sacks in a nonleague game.
Monrovia rallied from a 14-13 deficit and Michael Washington returned an interception 55 yards to give the Wildcats (1-3) their first lead, 20-13.
The Cardinals (2-2) marched to the 6-yard line in the fourth quarter. On fourth-and-3, quarterback Dylan Salcedo was sacked. Whittier got the ball back and drove to the 35. On fourth-and-3, Salcedo was sacked again with 7:14 to play.
The Wildcats avoided starting the season 0-4 for the first time in more than two decades when Alfonso Castillo, who rushed for 138 yards in the game, scored from the 1 on the next series.
Aaron McClain took the opening kickoff 75 yards for a TD for the Cardinals. Robert Sandoval gave Whittier a 14-7 halftime lead with a 1-yard run.
Richie Schroeder threw a 38-yard TD pass to Elijah Hall and a 9-yarder to Washington in the first half.
— Royce Kirkland
LOS ALAMITOS 40, LA HABRA 29
The Griffins (3-1) pulled away from the host Highlanders (1-3) in the fourth quarter in the nonleague game.
Los Alamitos led the entire game, but La Habra cut the lead to 33-23 in the third quarter. Los Alamitos answered back with a TD for a 40-23 lead.
Every time the Highlands came close, the Griffins would get a big play. Keanu Norman returned a kickoff 94 yards and Dylan Laurent had TD runs of 62 and 75 yards and After La Habra scores.
Highlanders quarterback Zack Fogel completed 14 of 28 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown. He rushed for 59 yards. Prince Ross caught six passes for 119 yards and a TD.
— T.J. Guerra
WEST COVINA 24, SCHURR 13
The Spartans averaged 40 points in their first three games, but the host Bulldogs held Schurr to two rushing touchdowns in the nonleague game.
West Covina (2-2) was led by senior running back Anthony Ramiro, who had 125 yards on 16 carries and scored on runs of 17 and 50 yards.
The Bulldogs sacked quarterback Miguel Aguero four times. Senior running back Noah Rangel had 105 yards and two scores on 11 carries for Schurr (3-1), which was trying go 4-0 for the first time since 2001.
West Covina scored three times on its first five possessions.
— Rudy Ramos
WHITTIER CHR. 68, BELL 55
Quinn Commans completed 27 of 39 passes for 490 yards and nine touchdowns to lead the Heralds in a nonleague game at Whittier College.
Cade McGee had 10 catches for 211 yards, three for TDs, Nico Albertini had six receptions, three for TDs, and Noah Sanchez had two TD receptions. Justin Osborn rushed for 166 yards. Comans had the Heralds’ lone rushing TD.
— Staff Report
SANTA FE 29, SOUTH TORRANCE 12
Santa Fe (1-3) looked much more polished offensively and seemingly had control of the ball for most of the game. They jumped out to a 12-0 lead after the first quarter and led 19-0 at halftime.
Santa Fe was led by quarterback Chris Ramsey, who showed he was capable of being a dual-threat with his fantastic arm and speed. Ramsey completed 17 of 32 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns but also threw two interceptions. He also ran for 94 yards on 10 carries.
OTHER SCORES
El Rancho 67, Bell Gardens 12
Buena Park 67, Pioneer 0
HOW THE TOP TEN FARED
1. La Mirada (2-2) def. San Clemente, 43-14
2. La Serna (2-2) lost to St. Francis, 24-21
3. La Habra (1-3) lost to Los Alamitos, 40-29
4. Schurr (3-1) lost to West Covina, 24-13
5. St. Paul (1-3) lost by forfeit to Bishop Amat, 2-0
6. Montebello (3-1) def. Azusa, 41-13, Thursday
7. Whittier Christian (3-1) def. Bell, 68-55
8. California (3-1) def. Rosemead, 34-21
9. Whittier (2-2) lost to Monrovia, 26-14
10. Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary (1-2), idle

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