Nick Castillo carries the ball and Schurr to victory.
(Whittier) – Schurr’s defense figured out the Whittier ground game after the first quarter and eventually chewed up some rushing yards of its own in a 24-7 thumping of the Cardinals Thursday night at California High.
Schurr overcame an early 7-0 deficit before scoring 24 unanswered points to win it. The Spartans led 10-7 at the half and added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put it away.
Schurr used a balanced attack to beat the Cards. They ran the ball 32 times and threw 21 passes. Nick Castillo was the workhorse for Schurr with 26 carries for 153 yards and a touchdown. His longest run came on his last carry when he got loose for a 47 yard gain before fumbling.
Spartan quarterback Aaron Cantu completed 13 of 22 for 191 yards and two touchdowns. Both scores were hauled in by 6’2” Angel Sanchez who caught TD strikes of 11 and 22 yards.
It didn’t start well for Schurr as Whittier took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field. The Cards, running the Wing- T offense, went 80 yards in 10 plays capped by a nine yard run by Bryan Carrillo.
It appeared the Whittier ground game was in high gear but that was the last time the Cardinals scored.
“We made some adjustments up front with our lineman and just got the guys to play a little bit lower,” said Schurr Coach Ben Negrete. “That gave our backers a chance to fill. The defensive staff made some great adjustments.”
After that the Schurr offense went to work. First a drive down to the Whittier four yard line ended with a 20 yard Sanchez field goal, (yes he kicks too.) Then just before the end of the half Schurr drove 74 yards on nine plays. Sanchez caught a 30 yard pass from Cantu down to the eight yard line and one play later caught an 11 yard TD toss over the middle.
Neither team scored in the third, but the Spartans ground out the win in the fourth. Castillo scored on a three yard run to finish a 74 yard march with 9:38 left. Sanchez hauled in a 22 yard pass from Cantu over the middle with 4:13 remaining.
After the initial drive Schurr’s defense was a hitting machine, laying several pops on the Whittier players. Chris Chairmonte, who picked off Cardinal quarterback Matt Viramontes in the second quarter, was responsible for a couple of blasts as were Ayon Nathan and Christian Madrid.
Alex Gonzalez led the Whittier ground attack with 67 yards. Whittier had only 80 yards through the air.
Whittier fell to 3-2 with the loss while Schurr improved to 3-1-1. League play starts next week for the Spartans as they host the Alhambra Moors for Homecoming on October 16.
“I feel good going into league. I feel we have matured as a team. I feel we can throw the ball around and run it. I like the balanced offense we have had,” Negrete added.
S 3 7 0 14 24
W 7 0 0 0 7
Summary:
1st Qtr:
W 7:58 Carrillo 9 yd run (Kevin Medina Kick)
S 2:22 Sanchez 20 yd FG
2nd Qtr:
S :21 Sanchez 11 yd pass from Cantu (Sanchez Kick)
4th Qtr:
S 9:28 Castillo 3 yd run (Sanchez Kick)
S 4:13 22 yd pass from Cantu (Sanchez Kick)
Leave a Reply