Compton High School's Roger Jones tries to break free from a Centennial defender during Friday's game. Jones scored three touchdowns as the Tarbabes won, 52-34. (Photo by Gary McCarthy)
Story Published:
Sep 16, 2009 at 1:37 PM PDT
Story Updated:
Sep 16, 2009 at 1:37 PM PDT
Compton High School football coach Calvin Bryant has insisted all along his stable of speedy running backs extends beyond James McConico.
McConico, for good reason, gets most of the attention. He’s a big-time college prospect coming off a junior season in which he rushed for 1,234 yards and averaged a remarkable 19.9 yards per carry.
However, Bryant warns, you ignore the other backs at your own risk.
“Everybody looks at McConico, but they don’t know about the others guys,” he said. “We have a lot of other backs and they all run track. You can’t key on McConico. With us, you never know whose night it’s going to be.”
All of Compton’s offensive weapons were on display in Friday’s season-opening 52-34 victory over intra-city rival Centennial.
McConico, to be sure, made his mark with 14 carries for 124 yards and two touchdowns (two and 36 yards) and a 60-yard scoring pass to Josiah Marshall.
Sophomore Roger Jones, after a quiet first half, exploded on the scene in the third quarter. During the 12-minute stretch, he returned the second-half kickoff 92 yards for a TD and added six- and 60-yard scoring runs from scrimmage. He finished with 106 yards on 10 carries.
“He should be one of the best backs in the state by the time he’s a senior,” Bryant said.
Senior Bryant Hayes added 90 yards on 11 carries and scored on a 28-yard run with 3:41 left for their final points.
Although the Tarbabes rolled up 450 yards and averaged 8.5 yards per snap, Bryant saw room for improvement on offense heading into Friday’s 5 p.m. home game with Dominguez, a 28-14 loser to Bishop Amat in its opener.
Twelve penalties for 106 yards were just part of the issues Bryant had with a unit that misfired as much as it was on target.
“I was not pleased with the way we played,” he said. “We need to move the ball better. There were too many times when we got into the open field with a chance to break long runs and didn’t. When we play Dominguez, we’re going to have to play better assignment football on defense, too.”
Centennial, also playing its opener, showed plenty of offensive flair, which bodes well for a team that was 1-9 a year ago.
Quarterback Nelson Gammage completed 17 of 30 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns (all in the second half). His scoring passes, which kept the Tarbabes from completely putting the game out of reach, went 22 and 18 yards to Kevin Smith (five catches for 110 yards), 22 yards to Kurt Davis (four for 42) and 67 yards to Raymond Gilliam (three for 104).
His one glitch was an interception that was returned five yards for a score by Marshall with 12 seconds left in the half. Instead of only being down four at the break, the Apaches trailed by 10.
Despite all the passing yardage against his secondary, Bryant wasn’t overly concerned.
“Not really,” he said. “It was a first game and we have to make improvements here and there. There were a lot of broken coverages and they made some great catches. We’ll have to get better because we’ll play teams in the Moore League who can throw the ball.”
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