Garrett Uribe
MEMORIAL FIELD -- Standing on a 21-point lead late in the second
quarter, it seemed the Bellarmine-Jefferson High football team could
finally take a breather.
And it did.
But visiting Malibu High did not.
In a game that blew some preconceptions out of the water, the Sharks
surged back to within seven points before finally succumbing, 35-21, to
Bell-Jeff Saturday in a nonleague game at Memorial Field.
"We really had to fight for this one," Guards Coach Rolando Aguirre
said. "They hit us hard so we just had to to hit them hard back."
Bell-Jeff (2-0), on the heels of its decisive season-opening win over
La Verne Lutheran High two weeks ago, was forced to make a gut-check
against the Sharks (0-2).
Put to the test for the first time, the Guards' defense held fast in
the clutch, but also revealed a tendency to relax in times of prosperity.
"Our defense just kind of lost focus there," Aguirre said. "I think
they got tired. But later on they sucked it up. Fortunately our offense
was more on track."
Nearly duplicating his season-debut performance, Bell-Jeff tailback
Steven Slaughter came through with 168 yards and one touchdown in 19
carries.
Slaughter gained 112 yards in the first quarter, including a 64-yard
touchdown run with 34 seconds remaining.
Relying chiefly on the rushing services of Slaughter in its first
game, this time Bell-Jeff let young quarterback Brendan Doyle flex his
muscles. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound sophomore responded by having a hand in
three touchdowns.
In the second quarter, Doyle -- who completed seven of 14 passes for
140 yards -- hit receiver Romel Cabrerra for back-to-back touchdowns in a
span of 27 seconds. The first of those touchdowns was an 80-yarder.
Malibu got on the board with Mike Trento's 82-yard kickoff return at
the end of the first half.
With 8:19 left in the third quarter, Doyle got into the scoring act
personally by scrambling 12 yards into the end zone.
Ethan Ruiz's point-after kick made it 28-7 Bell-Jeff.
Ruiz, who failed on two PAT's the first game, was a perfect five for
five on the night.
"We worked with Ethan a lot these past two weeks," Aguirre said. "He
seems to have found his rhythm."
After Bell-Jeff reclaimed its three-touchdown advantage, there seemed
to be a sense of order restored. No one, however, told Malibu this, as
the Sharks rallied with two quick strikes.
Putting the capper on a 14-play drive, tailback Steven Edman punched
it in from four yards out with 2:34 remaining in the third quarter.
Malibu's two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving it 28-13.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Sharks pooch-kicked and recovered on
Bell-Jeff's 45.
Half a minute later, the Sharks made 28-21 on another Edman run.
"We knew after those two touchdowns that we had to step up on
defense," Aguirre said. "That was our wake-up call."
In the fourth quarter, Bell-Jeff shut down the Sharks.
With 2:06 remaining, the Guards closed the lid on Malibu when Steve
Argento scored on a nine-yard run.
