By Corey Kwok
(La Puente) – It was Zachary Shay’s night at Kiefer Stadium as the speedy junior all purpose back scored three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) to lead host Bishop Amat to a 34-14 rout of Muir Friday night at Kiefer Stadium.
Shay carried the ball five times for 107 yards and sped into the end zone on his last two rushes. The last one was an 80 yard bolt to the house less than 90 seconds into the second half that put the Mustangs away.
Muir stayed in contention early trailing only 7-0 after one. Amat led 20-6 at halftime.
Former Crescenta Valley speedster Dai Dai McFadden returned the opening kick 40 yards to midfield, giving the ‘Stangs good field position on their first outing. But the drive stalled on an incomplete pass and Muir was forced to punt.
Howard Vaughn got the perfect boot and pinned Amat at its own one yard line. But the Lancers took only 78 seconds and three plays to travel the 99 yards to pay dirt. Quarterback Rio Ruiz hit Darren Andrews for an 83 yard score just under three minutes into the game.
Kevon Seymour filled the cleats of the injured Jeffrey Davis under center for Muir and scrambled for a 31 yard gain two series later on a third and long.
Amat then shut Muir down and recovered a muffed punt that sailed 23 yards back to the 19. Amat benefitted from the short field to cash it in three plays later as Shay took a screen from Ruiz, eluded several tackles, and lunged into the end zone.
Seymour responded on the first play on the next possession as he went to an open Karl Holmes for 42 yards down to the Amat 30. The quarterback then scrambled for 18 on a pair of runs. A one yard charge by Vaughn narrowed the gap, but the ever-grinding Lancers churned a 75 yard, 10 play drive that ended in an eight yard TD by Shay that pushed Bishop Amat up 20-6.
Junior tailback Jalen Moore quietly strung together 127 yards rushing on 18 carries with a TD to make it a two headed Amat monster. Overall, the Lancers outgained the Mustangs 413 to 169 in total offense and amassed 269 yards on the ground. Ruiz finished 7 for 11 for 144 yards and two TDs.
Seymour closed out the night going 10 of 17 for 125 yards and a scoring strike to McFadden midway through the final frame for the game’s last score. Destiny Iwuoma sparked the Mustang receiving corps with five catches for 52 yards that was topped off with a spectacular 24 yarder in which he bolted over defenders and tucked it in near the sideline.
Muir 0 6 0 8 14
Amat 7 13 14 0 34
Total offense
Amat 413 (144 passing, 269 rushing)
Muir 179 (125 passing, 54 rushing)
1Q
(Amat, 7-0) 9:03 – Rio Ruiz 83yd PASS to Darren Andrews / Alex Gutierrez XPT made
2Q
(Amat, 14-0) 10:06 – Ruiz 7yd PASS to Zachary Shay / Gutierrez XPT made
(Muir, 6-14) 7:55 – Howard Vaughn 1yd RUN / XPT failed – botched snap
(Amat, 20-6) 3:23 – Shay 8yd RUN / XPT failed – blocked by Denzel Talifero
3Q
(Amat, 27-6) 10:34 – Shay 80yd RUN / Gutierrez XPT made
(Amat, 34-6) 5:07 – Jalen Moore 2yd RUN / Gutierrez XPT made
4Q
(Muir, 14-34) 6:43 – Kevon Seymour 13yd PASS to Dai Dai McFadden / 2PT CONV complete – Seymour pass to Tairen Owens
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