Edgar Melik-Stepanyan
The same-old story played out for the Hoover High football team in
Thursday's Pacific League opener against Muir.
The Tornadoes did what they always do: play hard to put up a
decent fight against an overpowering team.
But what has been a frustrating scenario for Hoover Coach Rob
Swartz is that his squad seems to come out on the losing end more
often than not.
Hoover hung tough against the Mustangs, trailing by just three
after a quarter of play, but Muir turned on the afterburners en route
to a 48-3 victory at Moyse Field.
"I thought our kids gave a great effort, even though we were on
the losing end of it," Swartz said.
"But obviously they are a very athletic team. We didn't have
anything to answer for their speed."
Three Muir running backs scored a touchdown, with Jerrell Sanford
and Justin Freemon reaching paydirt two times apiece.
Teammate Fred Daniels scored on a 10-yard scamper and finished
with a game-high 100 rushing yards.
"Offensively, [we had too much] speed to the outside," Mustang
first-year Coach Mike Riazzi said. "There are six running backs who
can run the ball well. We had a nice rotation.
"I thought the offensive line did a fine job."
Muir (2-4, 1-0 in league) amassed 362 yards of total offense to
Hoover's 111. The Mustangs had 17 first downs and the Tornadoes (1-5,
0-1) had 10, including four in the second half, when Muir added to a
20-3 halftime lead.
"We caved in the fourth quarter," Swartz said.
Shaun Kermah had 47 rushing yards for Hoover -- which has lost 29
consecutive games to the Mustangs, dating back to 1963.
The turning point of the game came in the second quarter when
Hoover fumbled on Muir's 10-yard line. The Mustangs made the
Tornadoes pay for their mistake, as Sanford scored to give Muir a
13-3 lead.
