MidValleySports.Com

By Tony Solorzano

(Whittier) Richard Alvarez scored five rushing touchdowns as La Serna solidified its hold on the top of the Del Rio League standings with a dominating 70-0 destruction of Pioneer Friday night at Titan Stadium.

There was no stopping the Lancers (7-1, 3-0) as they built an insurmountable lead over the Pioneers (4-4, 1-2) early in the first quarter and never let up through the first half. Alvarez accounted for three of the first four scores in the first quarter.

Alvarez scored the first of his five touchdowns early in the first quarter, closing out the Lancers’ first series with a six-yard run. After forcing the Titans to punt, Alvarez scored again, this time from 33 yards out, increasing the lead.

On their next possession, Titan quarterback Daniel Castro was intercepted by Andrew Rosales, who returned the ball 17 yards for the score with 4:52 left. Alvarez closed out the quarter with his third score with 34.1 seconds left in the quarter, scoring from a yard out.

In the second, OJ Medina scored twice and Alvarez added a fourth touchdown. Medina scored first with 5:53 left in the half, rushing from 13 yards out. Almost two minutes later, Alvarez took a draw from mid-field and went 51 yards for his fourth score with 4:07. Medina closed out the half with a second score, this time from 25 yards out, giving the Lancers a 49-0 halftime score.

It got worse for the Titans as Alvarez scored his fifth with 6:05, running from 24 yards out on their only possession of the third quarter. Although Lancers Head Coach Margarito Beltran pulled his starters in the fourth quarter, the Lancers still scored twice in the final frame. Nick McCarty took a handoff from backup quarterback Shamar Ortiz and just blew past the Titan secondary, going 65 yards for the score with 7:51 left in the game. Three minutes later, junior running back, Ricardo Bazurto closed the scoring with a 5-yard score, ending the game 70-0.

The Titans blitz defense failed miserably throughout the night, as Lancer quarterback Andrew Buenrostro escaped from what could have been sure sacks and ended up either connecting on passes or rushing for positive yardage. He threw eight passes out of 15 for 149 yards. Connor Burke caught three passes for 64 yards, while Alvarez carried the ball 12 times for 175 yards and his five touchdowns. Medina carried seven times for 82 yards and his two scored, while McCarty carried only twice for 66 yards and his touchdown.

The Titans’ leading rusher Tony Botello was held to his worst rushing performance this season, carrying the ball 13 times for only 17 yards. Quarterback Andrew Castro completed only one of five passes for five yards and threw the interception returned for a touchdown by Rosales. Carlos Vasquez was not much better, getting five of eight passes for 30 yards, but also threw an interception.

Both teams will see action at Whittier District Field next week, as Pioneer faces Cal on Thursday while La Serna hosts Santa Fe on Friday.