FOOTBALL: West snaps East’s streak at Hall of Fame game

11430-19472815E.jpg

Above: South El Monte’s Tommy Cogburn.

11431-WESTEAST.jpg


Six is enough for West
Cogburn leads all-stars to win over the East

By Scott Galetti, Staff Writer
LA PUENTE – All good streaks eventually come to an end – even in all-star games.
The East team had won six consecutive meetings entering the 29th annual San Gabriel Valley Hall of Fame game Friday night at Bassett High School.
It was a streak the squad consisting of players from East of the 605 freeway couldn’t extend.
South El Monte wide receiver Tommy Cogburn stole the show.
Cogburn hauled in touchdown passes of 30 yards from Duarte quarterback Austin Goldsmith, and strikes of 44 and 60 from South Pasadena’s Jonathan Troast to lift the West to a 34-14 victory.
The former Eagles standout finished the night with seven catches for 178 yards and three touchdowns.
“I just really stayed in shape for this game,” said Cogburn, who will attend Fullerton College. “Throughout the whole time I just worked hard, so it just felt like second nature.”
The West drove 90 yards in seven plays to get on the board first following a couple of big plays by Goldsmith and Cogburn.
Goldsmith hit Cogburn for a 40-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage.
Cogburn later hauled in a short screen pass, faked out the East defense and raced 30 yards down the sideline for a touchdown to give the West a 7-0 lead with 4:04 to play in the first quarter.
On a fourth-and-5 play at the East 34, Goldsmith threw another pass to Cogburn in the flat. The Eagle wide receiver avoided a handful of tacklers and carried the ball to the 1 before running out of gas.
Goldsmith was 7 of 18 for 158 yards, and Troast threw for 123 yards and three touchdowns.
“I came out in the second half and knew that we had to keep the momentum because we had a 14-point lead, and I was just lucky to have a really good receiver who broke two big ones,” said Troast, who plans to attend Pasadena City College.
Duarte running back Chris Harris appeared to take the ball into the end zone, but was ruled down at the 1. Goldsmith attempted a sneak but was stopped inches short to set up a fourth-and-inches. Harris finally took it in to give the West a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
The West carried that two-touchdown lead into the locker room at halftime.
Charter Oak’s Kanaan Snowden helped the East get back into the contest early in the second half when he picked off a pass from Troast and returned the ball 45 yards to the West 10.
West Covina’s Isaac Tucker scored on the first play from scrimmage to cut the West’s lead to 14-7.
Tucker rushed for 30 yards on seven carries.
Troast connected with Cogburn for a 44-yard touchdown to give the West a 21-7 advantage.
Tucker returned the kickoff 85 yards to the West 5. South Hills quarterback Brandon Parham scored on a 4-yard keeper to bring the East back within seven.
With the East driving, Bosco Tech’s Ryan Diaz had an interception in the end zone midway through the final quarter.
Troast hit Cogburn on a 60-yard touchdown strike to officially put an end to the East’s comeback bid. The Tigers quarterback also had a 56-yard touchdown pass to Schurr’s Alex Valdez with 1:45 to go.
“I was just fortunate because my arm got hit on the play and the ball came out wobbly, but the receiver was able to come underneath it and catch it,” Troast said.

Facebook Twitter Plusone Reddit Tumblr Email