First published in the Sept. 1 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
The La Cañada High School varsity football team lost a nonleague matchup at Norwalk, 49-28, last Thursday evening.
Facing a 28-14 deficit in the third quarter, LCHS junior quarterback Macky Plocher connected with senior Trent Carey for a touchdown with nine minutes remaining. It was the first of two TDs in the quarter for the Spartans, as senior Corey Cheung’s rushing touchdown and senior Royce Xiao’s PAT with just a minute remaining cut the deficit to 34-28.
However, it was the last scoring run of the game for La Cañada, which was shut out in the final quarter of play while Norwalk added a pair of touchdowns, a two-point conversion and a PAT to secure a win.
Plocher tossed 12 completions for 193 yards with a pair of touchdowns while adding 14 yards on six carries. Cheung produced 18 carries for 138 yards with a pair of touchdowns and six tackles on defense, while Carey made six receptions for 128 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Meanwhile, Xiao nailed all four of his PAT attempts.
Norwalk drew first blood early with a touchdown just one minute into the first quarter.
The Spartans quickly responded with a rushing touchdown by Cheung and a successful PAT by Xiao to knot the game 7-7. That was La Cañada’s only scoring play in the first quarter as Norwalk built a 20-7 lead.
LCHS was held quiet for the majority of the second quarter until Plocher found Carey in the end zone with about a minute remaining before halftime.
Junior Tyler Bond had a pair of receptions for 27 yards with a solo tackle on defense, while senior Anthony Venneri posted a pair of catches for 22 yards to go along with a team-high nine tackles on defense. Junior Lorenz Bayug rushed for five yards on three carries while adding seven tackles on defense, and juniors Luke Raulli and Hayden Dancsecs each had one reception for seven and six yards, respectively.
Senior Mateo Gallegos collected six tackles and a sack, senior Andrew Gevorgian recorded five tackles, and senior Matthew Hardy and sophomore Josh Carruthers each logged three tackles.
Junior Anthon Cannon notched a pair of tackles, while senior Jake Adkins, senior Max Russakow, junior Paulos Cucullu, sophomore Warner Ibsen and sophomore Spencer Turner each registered one tackle.
LCHS (1-1 overall record) will host Franklin High of Los Angeles in a nonleague game on Friday, Sept. 2, at 7 p.m.
