MidValleySports.Com

By Ron Vrooman

(Montebello) – Alhambra fans had reason to hope for an upset victory when Julian Venegas Khavari hit wide receiver Brandon Kelly with a 55-yard touchdown pass less than two minutes into last Friday night’s game against the Schurr Spartans.   

That scoring strike on a halfback option play, which was set up by linebacker Marco Vazquez’s recovery of a fumble by Schurr running back Elias Navarro, staked the visiting Moors to a quick 7-0 lead.   

But that hope turned out to be wishful thinking as Navarro and his fellow Spartans shook off the turnover and went to work on both offense and defense. The Spartans scored 55 unanswered points to post a 55-7 win and virtually assure themselves of the Almont League title.   

Schurr, which is now 3-0 in league play and 7-1 overall, will close out the regular season with games against last-place Mark Keppel and neighborhood rival Montebello.   

Navarro was a key factor in the Spartans’ domination of the Moors, carrying the ball 15 times for 154 yards and three touchdowns. However, he may have been outdone by Fabian Escamilla-Sanchez, a wide receiver and cornerback who scored four TD’s on the night.   

Escamilla-Sanchez caught two touchdown passes from quarterback Christian Breazeale and also picked off Alhambra’s Bryan Leonard three times, returning two of those interceptions for scores. He hauled in a total of three passes for 78 yards, and his “pick-sixes” measured 39 and 51 yards, respectively.   

Breazeale completed six of nine passes for 109 yards before leaving the game in the third quarter. The Spartans rushed for 230 yards and piled up a total of 348 yards from scrimmage.   

Leonard endured one of the worst performances in his nearly two seasons as Alhambra’s starting quarterback, connecting on only four of 16 throws for 47 yards, with the three interceptions.

The Moors had just 191 yards in total offense, rushing for 89 yards and passing for 102.   

Alhambra’s playoff hopes will depend on winning road games against the Montebello Oilers on Thursday and the San Gabriel Matadors next week. The Moors are currently 1-2 in the Almont League and 1-7 overall.