Los Altos quarterback Luke Rodriguez passed for two scores and ran for two.
By Tim Peterson
(Hacienda Heights) – Los Altos racked up 261 yards on the ground and had over 400 yards overall in a 56-14 rout of South Hills Thursday night on the Conquerors home field.
The Conquerors, for all intents and purposes, ended the game in the second quarter as they built a 42-14 halftime lead.
Nathaniel Sanchez and Evan Rojas led a dominant running attack as they combined for 235 yards. Sanchez ran for 158 yards and three touchdowns and Rojas had 77 and a score.
The Conquerors scored right out of the gate when Nicholas Castillo intercepted a pass on South Hills first play from scrimmage to set up Los Altos at the Huskies 17-yard line. One play later Sanchez busted off a 16-yard touchdown run for a 6-0 lead.
After a South Hills punt Los Altos struck again. They only needed two plays to score and it was Castillo again who made a big play – this time on offense. He hauled in a 57-yard touchdown strike from Luke Rodriguez and with 8:18 still left in the first quarter it was already 13-0 Conqs.
Tough night for Fabian Marez and the Huskies.
Three minutes later South Hills put together a drive off a good kickoff return. The Huskies marched 46 yards on six plays with quarterback Fabian Marez keeping it and going six yards for the touchdown to get South Hills within 13-7.
But Los Altos answered back with one more score in the first quarter. A 37-yard pass from Rodriguez to Joseph Munoz set up a four-yard touchdown jaunt by Rojas to make it 20-7.
South Hills was stopped on its own 33-yard line on fourth down early in the second quarter and the Conquerors took advantage. Five plays later Rodriguez slammed in from the one and Sanchez ran in the two-point conversion and it was 28-7.
The Huskies responded with a 75-yard drive that Jaylen Lang finished with a four-yard run. South Hills was down 28-14 with 6:37 left in the second quarter but that was the last time the Huskies scored.
Los Altos effectively put the game on ice with two quick touchdowns. First Sanchez found paydirt on a seven-yard touchdown run after he broke off runs of 29 and 27 yards on two previous plays. 14 seconds later the Conquerors scored again after recovering a fumble on the kickoff.
After taking over at the South Hills 28-yard line, Rodriguez connected with a wide-open Cruz Aguilar for a touchdown. Just like that it was 42-14 with just over four minutes left in the second quarter and everything had been decided except the final score.
With 1:59 left in the second quarter South Hills lineman Sean Aiono was injured and after being down for several minutes was taken off the field in an ambulance. Early reports are that he should be okay.
Los Altos scored again in the third quarter as Sanchez got loose for a 55-yard sprint to glory.
That set up a running clock in the fourth quarter. Rodriguez picked up his second touchdown of the night on the ground with just over eight minutes left as the Conquerors passed the 50 mark.
Rodriguez threw for 161 yards and a pair of touchdowns passing as well as the two scores rushing. He along with Sanchez and Rojas formed the ”Big Three” for Los Altos
The Conquerors are now 7-0 on the season and have won 17 consecutive regular season games dating back to last season. South Hills fell to 5-2.
SH 7 7 0 0 14
LA 20 22 7 7 56
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Sometimes a school and a coach just fit like a glove. Neither Ziola or Los Altos had a lot of success when he went elsewhere. Seems like Ziola and LA are the perfect match for each other!!
Dale Ziola had great success with Los Altos in his first stint, then went elsewhere and couldn’t duplicate the feat. Now, he’s back at the Hacienda Heights school and is seemingly picking up where he left off the first time. All we can say is that there must be a sort of magical connection between the man and the school. Whatever the deal is, best of luck to this program as it aims for a CIF title.