By Ron Vrooman
(Bell Gardens) – The Alhambra Moors had an audacious plan, attempting an onside kick at the start of their Almont League opener against the Bell Gardens Lancers on Friday night. However, the kick was recovered by the Lancers at their own 43-yard line, and things quickly fell apart for the Moors in what turned out to be a 41-6 loss.
On only the third play from scrimmage, Bell Gardens quarterback Ethan Rosas hit wide receiver Eloy Martin with a 52-yard touchdown pass to put the Lancers ahead, 7-0.
Then, fueled by a blocked punt, a fumble recovery, and Adrian Silva’s 57-yard interception return for a touchdown, the Lancers scored four more times in the opening quarter to take a 34-0 lead. The visiting Moors contributed to their own misery with some poor tackling early on.
Bell Gardens running back William Hernandez finished the Lancers’ scoring for the night with a seven-yard touchdown run less than a minute before the halftime break.
Alhambra got its only points on a two-yard run by senior back Erick Baray with 6:50 left in the game.
The Moors held Bell Gardens to just 46 yards on the ground, so the Lancers had to get the bulk of their yardage through the air.
Rosas, a senior, completed 11 of 21 passes for 199 yards and two scores. His top receivers were Martin, who made four catches for 73 yards and a touchdown, and Eric Valenzuela, who caught three passes for 101 yards and a TD.
Alhambra’s freshman quarterback, Bryan Leonard, struggled through his worst game of the season, hitting on only two of 15 passes for 51 yards, with four interceptions. The Moors rushed for a net total of 97 yards, which came almost entirely on their last two possessions.
The Lancers’ victory put them in a first-place tie with Montebello and Schurr and improved their overall record to 3-3. The Moors fell to 0-1 in league and 2-4 overall.
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