With back-to-back wins over Palos Verdes and Inglewood, Leuzinger High’s football team has vaulted to the top of the Bay League hierarchy.
On Thursday night, despite losing quarterback Russell Sekona to a fractured hand in the second quarter, Leuzinger (5-0, 2-0) relied on its defense and the play of running back-turned-quarterback Journee Tonga to come away with a 40-14 victory over Palos Verdes at SoFi Stadium.
Tonga contributed touchdown runs of 14 and 21 yards on option plays. Then Leuzinger’s speed back, Kelton Strickland, ran 84 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter. And Tonga added a 61-yard touchdown pass. All this came with Palos Verdes (4-3, 1-1) thinking the 5-foot-8 Tonga wasn’t going to be much of passing threat. Aided by his offensive line, Tonga found holes in the Sea Kings’ defense.
The Olympians’ defense frustrated Palos Verdes quarterback Ryan Rakowski, who was ejected with 11:41 left after getting into a squabble with Leuzinger linebacker Samu Moala. The game was delayed as the officials talked to both coaches trying to determine ejections. Moala was ejected along with two teammates.
“High emotion,” Moala said. “Lesson learned.”
Those ejected can be sidelined for one to three games depending on the officials’ report.
Rakowski had 12 yards passing at halftime and finished with 87 yards.
Palos Verdes made a brief rally in the fourth quarter, recovering an onside kick, recovering another fumble and closing to 27-14 on two touchdown passes by senior quarterback Giorgio Di Mascio. But Pakipole Moala clinched Leuzinger’s victory with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown. Then Tonga added his third rushing touchdown of the night.
The Washington Commanders barged into SoFi Stadium on Sunday and handed the Chargers their second consecutive defeat — a 27-10 spirit crusher — coming on the heels of an upset of coach Jim Harbaugh’s team by the winless New York Giants a week before.
The visitors iced the win with a 13-play, 99-yard drive that ended with an eight-yard, blitz-beating touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels to Deebo Samuel. That had thousands of blue-clad fans streaming for the exits.
The game had been decided before that. A pivotal play came with 7 minutes, 40 seconds remaining and the Chargers looking to cut into Washington’s 10-point lead.
On third-and-goal from the 4, Justin Herbert dropped back and fired a pass for the sure-handed Keenan Allen. The ball was tipped by Jer’Zhan Newton and intercepted at the goal line by cornerback Mike Sainristil. Threat neutralized.
That blunted a drive that started with a masterful defensive play, a tackle by Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart, who pried the ball loose from Washington running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt — who was having a tremendous game — then recovered the fumble.
The play hinted at a dramatic comeback by the lurching Chargers (3-2), a team still looking to find its groove. Much like their season so far, the Chargers started strong then faded.
Washington wide receiver Deebo Samuel scores on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels in the fourth quarter of the Commanders’ 27-10 win Sunday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
They jumped out to a 10-0 lead against the Commanders before surrendering 27 unanswered points with the game torturously slipping away from the Chargers in the second half.
Their kryptonite was rookie Croskey-Merritt, who tore off some gains longer than his last name. The seventh-round pick from Arizona finished with a combined 150 yards in 14 carries and two catches.
He had touchdown runs of 15 and five yards around the left side that befuddled a Chargers defense that had played so well to this point. This was a Commanders offense missing star receiver Terry McLaurin, and with Daniels ostensibly limited by a sprained knee and bulky brace.
Daniels did some scrambling, however, and mobile quarterbacks historically have given this defense problems. The onetime star from Cajon High in San Bernardino threw for 231 yards and ran for 39.
Heading into the game, the primary concern of the Chargers offense was protecting Herbert, who was pressured on 46 drop backs in the first four games, more than any quarterback in the NFL, according to TruMedia. He was facing a defense Sunday that includes future Hall of Famers Von Miller and Bobby Wagner.
Washington players celebrate after cornerback Mike Sainristil intercepts a pass intended for Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen in the fourth quarter Sunday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Herbert creates problems for defenses with his arm and legs. On the third play from scrimmage, he broke loose on a run up the middle and picked up 41 yards.
The opening drive appeared to end with a 29-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker, but the Chargers got new life with an offsides call on Washington. That afforded the Chargers a first-and-goal at the six, and two plays later, Herbert found Ladd McConkey with a two-yard pass for a touchdown.
Allen caught five passes, becoming the 16th receiver in NFL history to accumulate 1,000 career receptions. He came into Sunday’s game needing two catches to hit that milestone, and he did that in fewer games than anyone (159), compared with the prior record-holder Marvin Harrison (167).
Herbert is playing behind a patchwork offensive line, as the team lost left tackle Rashawn Slater in training camp — 10 days after making him the highest-paid offensive lineman in history — then lost replacement Joe Alt to a high-ankle sprain in the first quarter of a Week 4 loss at the Giants.
Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey celebrates after scoring his first touchdown of the season in the first quarter Sunday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Right guard Mekhi Becton returned from a concussion that sidelined him for the Giants game, but Sunday sustained a hand injury. What’s more, right tackle Trey Pipkins III hobbled off the field in the second quarter with a banged-up knee. It was a true MASH unit.
This has been a roller coaster season for the Chargers, a microcosm of which happened at the end of the first half.
The Commanders were punting from their own end zone and put the ball in the hands of Chargers returner McConkey, who weaved his way to the end zone for an apparent touchdown.
That jubilation didn’t last long for the Chargers, as they were flagged for roughing the punter, giving the visitors a first down. No sooner did the defense get back onto the field than Daniels connected on a 50-yard heave to Luke McCaffrey, younger brother of San Francisco 49ers star Christian McCaffrey.
Two plays later, Samuel picked up 22 yards on a reception for Washington (3-2), setting up a field goal that forged a 10-10 tie the teams took into halftime.
The Commanders carried that momentum into the third quarter when, with a combination of receptions and runs by Croskey-Merritt, they worked their way downfield for the go-ahead touchdown.
Moyo Odebunmi, a junior running back at Cleveland High and native of Nigeria who had never played varsity football until this season, is quickly adjusting to the speed of the game.
On Thursday night against Arleta, his first three carries resulted in touchdown runs of 68, 85 and 59 yards. He also caught a touchdown and had a 99-yard kickoff return in Cleveland’s 70-37 win. He finished with 303 yards rushing.
Odebunmi, who is 5-foot-7 and 155 pounds, didn’t play football as a freshman, came out last season and learned the game on junior varsity. Now coach Mario Guzman can’t find enough spots to use him.
“We had him all over the field,” Guzman said. “He’s just an athlete we have to have out there.”
Another big contributor for Cleveland was soccer athlete Samael Cerritos, who was 10 for 10 on PATs.
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