First published in the Sept. 15 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
The La Cañada High School varsity football team snapped its two-game losing skid by dominating previously unbeaten Santa Paula, 28-7, in a nonleague game on the road last Friday.
The Spartans (2-2 overall) took care of business at Santa Paula, as senior Corey Cheung did the heavy offensive lifting by recording three touchdowns while rushing for 202 yards on 30 carries. He also posted a team-high nine tackles on defense.
LCHS finished the first half with a 21-7 advantage. The Spartans tacked on an additional touchdown in the third quarter while the defense did its job and held Santa Paula scoreless in the second half.
Junior quarterback Macky Plocher completed 10-of-13 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 33 yards on seven carries. Senior Anthony Venneri made three receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown while adding eight tackles on defense. Senior Trent Carey had three catches for 33 yards, while junior Tyler Bond had a pair of catches for 14 yards. Juniors Hayden Dancsecs and Luke Raulli each made one reception for eight and 2 yards, respectively. Junior Lorenz Bayug rushed for three yards on a pair of carries while adding a 15-yard interception and four tackles on defense.
Senior Mateo Gallegos collected six tackles, while senior Andrew Gevorgian, junior Cayden Klein and sophomore Spencer Turner each produced four tackles. Sophomore Josh Carruthers registered three tackles, junior Paulos Cucullu, junior Kei Hartzberg and sophomore Flynn Lewis each tallied a pair of tackles, and senior Nyel Bangash, senior Jake Adkins, senior Max Russakow, sophomore Matthew Couts and sophomore Syem Bangash each finished with one tackle.
Meanwhile, senior kicker Royce Xiao went 4-for-4 in PAT attempts.
La Cañada will host Crescenta Valley High of La Crescenta in its last scheduled nonleague game Friday at 7 p.m. The last meeting between LCHS and CV saw the Falcons notch a 59-20 victory in 2017.
