St. John Bosco Turns Back Clock

Reaganomics was in full swing, Depeche Mode was topping the pop charts, and Encino Crespi’s Russell White was running wild at the high school level the last time Bellflower St. John Bosco defeated Los Angeles Loyola in a football game.

It was 1986 when the Braves last lived up to their name against LoyolaBut the streak finally came to an end Friday at St. John Bosco when two running backs hit the 100-yard mark and the Braves completely shut down Loyola in the first half of a 26-14 Serra League victory.

Derrick Williams rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns and Terrance King rushed for 101 yards for St. John Bosco (5-2, 0-2 in league), which finally put the game out of reach on a 25-yard touchdown run by Williams with 2:44 left.

“They’re great backs,” St. John Bosco Coach Kiki Mendoza said. “We’ve got size up front. We should be able to run the ball on people. For us, it comes down to stopping other teams’ offense.”

The Braves, ranked No. 23 by The Times and No. 9 in the Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll, did that with ease on Friday.

Loyola (5-2, 0-2), ranked No. 13 by The Times and No. 6 in Division I, was stymied in the first half, gaining only 13 yards and two first downs.

Junior Scott Deke, making his first start at quarterback for Loyola, completed seven of 15 passes for 76 yards with one interception.

Senior Bo Renaud was the extent of the Loyola offense, gaining 123 yards in 27 carries and scoring two touchdowns.

-- Mike Bresnahan

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Chino 26, La Verne Damien 21 -- Brian Pedro and Kes Ekpre-Olomo have not been regular fixtures in Chino’s defense this season, but both made key plays to lift the Cowboys in the Sierra League game at Chino.

Pedro, playing in place of cornerback Nathaniel Jackson, who didn’t play after missing practice with the flu, intercepted two passes. His second came in Chino’s end zone with seven minutes left and the Cowboys clinging to a 23-21 lead.

Ekpre-Olomo was the main contributor on offense for Chino, rushing for 186 yards in 30 carries, but made his biggest play on Damien’s last offensive drive.

Ekpre-Olomo, making his first defensive appearance in three years, sacked quarterback Nick Davila at midfield for a seven-yard loss on third-and-six with 29 seconds remaining. Davila then threw incomplete on the next play and Chino escaped with the victory.

The No. 2 Cowboys (7-0, 2-0) came back from an early eight-point deficit to tie the score, 14-14, at the half.

Damien (5-2, 1-1), ranked No. 21, moved back ahead, 21-14, on Dan Johnson’s six-yard run midway through the third quarter. Kyle Lucariello kicked a 32-yard field goal -- Chino’s first of the season -- to cut the lead to 21-17.

Chino running back Jacob Flowe played sparingly because of an injured ankle, but he scored on two short touchdown runs, the second giving the Cowboys a 23-21 lead with 8:11 left.

--Dan Arritt

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Newhall Hart 35, Canyon Country Canyon 9 -- Sophomore Ryan Wolfe caught a 33-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the third quarter to break open a close game and lift Hart to its 55th consecutive Foothill League victory at College of the Canyons.

The No. 5 Indians (6-0-1, 2-0), ranked No. 2 in Division II, held Canyon (6-1, 1-1) to 54 yards in the second half after clinging to a 14-9 halftime lead.

Quarterback Sean Norton completed 15 of 26 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns. He has thrown 210 passes this season without an interception.

Billy Maria of Canyon came through with the game’s most dramatic play on the final down of the first half. He blocked a 42-yard field goal, picked up the loose ball and raced 61 yards for a touchdown.

Quarterback Nate Longshore of Canyon, No. 9 in Division II, completed 10 of 31 passes for 106 yards.

--Eric Sondheimer

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Manhattan Beach Mira Costa 43, Inglewood 20 -- The Mustangs converted two interceptions and a blocked punt into touchdowns to move one step closer to their third consecutive Bay League title with a victory at Coleman Stadium.

Quarterback Peter Dobush threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score for No. 7 Mira Costa (7-0, 2-0), ranked No. 1 in Division III. Michael Okwo ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

Eddie Hunter scored twice for Inglewood (4-3, 1-1), including a 43-yard run.

--Steven Herbert

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Carpinteria 36, Westlake Village Oaks Christian 14 -- Quarterback Aaron Gonzales gained 88 yards in 17 carries and scored on runs of two, one, two and 15 yards to lead Carpinteria in a Tri-Valley League game at Oaks Christian.

The Warriors (7-0, 4-0), No. 1 in Division XI, took a 21-0 lead with 6:44 left in the third quarter on Gonzales’ third touchdown to cap a 10-play, 67-yard drive.

Oaks Christian (6-1, 2-1), No. 3 in Division XI, got 115 yards rushing in 20 carries by Aaron Ware. He played extensively for the first time since missing four games with a hip injury.

--Lauren Peterson

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Gardena Serra 9, L.A. Cathedral 8 -- Jonathan Champion kicked a game-winning 24-yard field goal with three seconds remaining to lead the Cavaliers over the Phantoms in a Del Rey League game at Serra.

The Phantoms (6-1, 1-1), ranked No. 5 in Division X, scored first on a one-yard run by Devin Martinez, then added a two-point conversion, making it 8-0 with 3:02 left in the first half.

Serra (7-0, 2-0), ranked No. 1 in Division X, got on the board 5:33 into the third quarter, when Corey Jones found Devin Stearns on a 52-yard touchdown pass play, but the Cavaliers failed on a two-point conversion.

--Rafer Weigel