So much can happen in seven minutes of football.
Carson proved that on Saturday night in the City Section Open Division championship game, scoring five touchdowns in a 7:05 span of the second quarter to produce a 36-0 shutout of Crenshaw at Southwest College.
After a scoreless first quarter, Zach Brock broke several tackles on a 12-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter, opening the floodgates for the No. 1-seeded Colts (10-3).
Chris Fields III connected with Royal Moore on a 46-yard touchdown and the two-point conversion made it 15-0 at the 7:32 mark. Darren Panton returned a punt 28 yards for another touchdown with 6:20 left in the stanza and recovered a fumble at the Crenshaw 22 two plays later, setting up Craig Walker’s reverse that made it 29-0. Panton ended the scoring barrage with a 23-yard interception return 4:46 before halftime.
“We saw in the first quarter that they were overly aggressive and if we gave them a fake, they’d bite on it,” said Fields, who completed eight of 15 passes for 147 yards with an interception and ran seven times for 38 yards. “I just took advantage of what the defense gave me. Darren’s punt return sealed the deal.”
Carson sacked Cougars quarterback Danniel Flowers four times in the first half — two of those by end Kingston Sula and one each by Derric Myers and Xavier Allen — and forced him into several other hurried throws. Flowers, who made several clutch throws in the semifinals at Birmingham, was held to four-of-10 passing for 37 yards in the first half Saturday while running back Joshua Jones had 11 yards in five carries by intermission.
Carson High receiver Royal Moore sprints down the sideline on his way to a 46-yard touchdown against Crenshaw in the City Section Open Division final Saturday night.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Eric Myers finished with 88 yards in 18 carries to keep the chains moving for the Colts, who claimed their 12th City crown and first since winning Division I in 2003 under coach John Aguirre, who later became City Section commissioner.
Carson moved to within one of second-place Banning on the all-time titles list. Manual Arts holds the record with 17.
“This is a testament to these kids and how hard they work,” first-year coach William Lowe said. “They have good practice habits on the field and in the weight room and are mentally tough. Any play can win or lose a game and when good things happen we try to build on that.”
The sixth-seeded Cougars (10-2) were vying for their seventh City title since 1991. Terrence Whitehead has served as interim head coach all season in the absence of longtime coach Robert Garrett (the winningest football coach in section history with 300 wins to his credit), who is on administrative leave.
“Chris has grown in leaps and bounds,” Lowe said of Fields. “I credit all of my coaches. Our defensive alignment allows the kids to play fast and physical and we were battle-tested despite some tough losses early in the year.”