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By Loren Kopff
LA MIRADA-The most improved area football team thus far has been John Glenn, which went 2-2 in nonleague action and was outscored by eight points. But the early season turnaround came to a screeching halt in the team’s Suburban League opener.
What was a close, one-possession game for the first 23 minutes turned out to be a rout as Bellflower blasted the Eagles 40-7 last Thursday night at Goodman Stadium. This was the second straight season the Buccaneers have defeated Glenn by the same score. Glenn has now lost at least 17 of the past 18 meetings with Bellflower.
With Bellflower leading 7-0 just 55 seconds into the game, the Eagles chewed up the next 10:50, aided by a roughing the punter penalty with 5:09 left in the stanza. Glenn ran 15 plays, moving from its own 22-yard line to the Bellflower 21-yard line. But a fumble ended that drive and the Bucs cashed in with a field goal early in the second quarter. With the score 13-0, the Eagles got on the board with 72 seconds left in the half when senior running back Jamal Burns rushed 30 yards up the middle for his team-leading third touchdown of the season. He has accounted for half of Glenn’s touchdowns this season. But with two seconds remaining before halftime, Bellflower made it a 19-7 game when Khalif Majied caught a 25-yard pass from Demetrius Reed.
Glenn was forced to punt on its opening drive of the second half, but Wheeler Madison returned the punt 36 yards for another score and with almost three minutes gone in the third quarter, Bellflower was on its way to the rout at 26-7. The Eagles had second half drives end in two punts, an interception and a missed field goal.
Burns rushed for 88 yards on 13 carries while senior running back Dominick Enriquez added another 83 yards on eight carries. Glenn has its bye tonight and will face La Mirada on Oct. 10.
In other area football action, Artesia was blanked by La Mirada 42-0 last Friday night on the road. It’s the second straight shutout to the Matadores on the road, ironically by the same score. The Pioneers (2-3 overall, 0-1 in league) will host Mayfair tonight. Gahr fell behind Fullerton 34-14 at the half and couldn’t recover in a 41-33 loss to the Indians last Friday night. The Gladiators wrapped up their nonleague slate at 3-2 and have tonight off before visiting Warren on Oct. 10.
Valley Christian travelled to the Inland Empire to face longtime rival Ontario Christian and came away 34-12 victors to improve to 4-1 this season. The Crusaders put the game away in the third quarter with three touchdowns. Junior Robert Downs scored touchdown runs of 32 and 15 yards, the second time in as many weeks he has scored twice. V.C. will host St. Anthony tonight.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
The Cerritos Lady Dons have had a rough start to the season but have managed to win their first two Suburban League matches. On Sept. 23, Cerritos knocked off Artesia for the 24th straight time. Two days later, the Lady Dons swept Bellflower 25-12, 25-12, 25-3. Senior middle blocker Brittney Freeman led everyone with 11 kills while senior right side hitter Kaitlyn Bales added nine kills. Senior middle blocker Crystal Amalu also had a big match with six kills and three blocks. Cerritos visited La Mirada on Oct. 2 and will travel to Norwalk on Tuesday before hosting John Glenn on Thursday.
Gahr fell to 2-10 after St. Anthony swept the Gladiators 25-20, 25-17, 25-11 on Sept. 23. Gahr faced Warren on the road on Oct. 2 to begin San Gabriel Valley League action and will host Paramount on Tuesday in its “Dig Pink” affair. Gahr will then go to Downey on Thursday.
Valley Christian remained the hottest team around following a 25-21, 25-17, 25-17 sweep over Fairmont Prep this past Tuesday. The Lady Crusaders, who also won all three pool play matches in the Whittier Tournament last Saturday, improved to 14-0 and will host Heritage Christian on Tuesday in the Olympic League opener. V.C. will also host Village Christian on Thursday.
