MidValleySports.Com

By Tim Peterson

(Irwindale) – Rio Hondo Prep raced out to a 37-0 halftime lead and had a running clock in the third quarter in a 44-6 rout of Bellflower Friday night at Kare Park in Irwindale.

On the first play of the third quarter Nathaniel Shine busted off a 65-yard run breaking several tackles in the process to put the Kares up 44-0. That score set off a running clock and Rio Hondo Prep cruised to its fifth straight victory.

Bellflower finally got on the board late in the fourth on a six-yard run by Christian Pena to avoid the shutout.

The Kares did it on both sides of the ball. While the offense made big plays, the defense scored two touchdowns of its own. Up 17-0 Christian Lee scooped up a blocked punt and sprinted 25 yards for a touchdown to make it 24-0. On Bellflower’s next possession Tyler Dang picked off a pass and went 55 yards for a touchdown. It was suddenly 31-0 with 4:04 left in the second quarter. Game, set, match.

With 1:41 left Nate Curtis got loose for a 67-yard touchdown run to make it 37-0 at the half.

Early in the game the offense got things started. After a Marco Chan 33-yard field goal, Rainn Pollack hauled on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Landry Johnson to make it 10-0. After a Pollack interception Johnson then lined up at quarterback again and the Kares pulled off a little trickery. He took the snap and flipped the ball to Yanick Diaz then circled out and caught a four-yard pass from Diaz and crossed the goal line for a score. It was 17-0 after the first quarter.

The Kares then blew it open in the second quarter. Six different players scored for Rio Hondo Prep which has been their MO all year. Everybody gets into the act.

Bellflower wasn’t able to get anything going offensively. The Buccaneers had just one first down in the first half and were kept out of the endzone until late in the fourth quarter.

With the victory Rio Hondo Prep improved to 5-0 while Bellflower fell to 0-4.

The Kares will travel to Torrance next week as they try to stay undefeated.