Locke Overcomes Penalties to Win

After watching his team turn the ball over three times and lose 220 yards in penalties, Locke High football Coach E.C. Robinson was glad to leave the San Fernando Valley area Friday with a 27-0 victory over Verdugo Hills in a City nonconference game.

“We played real lousy today,” said Robinson, whose Saints, the Times’ eighth-ranked City team, improved to 2-0. “We made a lot of mistakes, but it’s better to play bad and still win.”

Verdugo Hills, which lost its opener to Grant, 2-0, is 0-2.

Locke had to rely on its defense and special teams to score three touchdowns, because its offense struggled without standout senior running back Antoine Redmond, who missed the game because of a hip pointer.

“Our line is new and it has to get it together before we can do things,” said Robinson, whose Saints lost to Garfield in the City 3-A Division semifinals last season. “We really missed Antoine on offense, but we have to get our passing game down and make that a strong point.”

After losing three fumbles in a scoreless first quarter, Locke took a 7-0 lead on a three-yard run by junior quarterback Demarcus Cornay that was set up by a 31-yard interception return by Douglas Bozeman.

The Saints, who had 70 yards in penalties in the first half, stretched their lead to 13-0 with two minutes left in the second quarter on an 80-yard punt return by senior LaMorris Ester.

In the second half, Locke continued to have problems with penalties. Late in the third quarter, the Saints were faced with a fourth and 75 because of a sack, a fumble and three consecutive personal foul penalties.

Two Locke players were ejected.

Verdugo Hills had 35 yards in penalties.

Locke scored again in the fourth quarter on a 93-yard punt return by Steven Martin. The Saints’ defense finished the scoring when linebacker George McGuire returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown.

Locke’s defense dominated Verdugo Hills, allowing 74 yards. Leading the Saints were outside linebackers Ken Stave and Kimo Dunn, who combined for five sacks.

On offense, Locke had its problems, moving the ball several times inside the Dons’ 20-yard line without scoring.

With Cornay and senior Bobby Savannah sharing time at quarterback, the Saints showed signs of a passing game when throwing to wideout Rocky Tribble, who had three catches for 94 yards.

“We have potential, but it’s going to take time,” Robinson said. “Once we get the mistakes down, we’ll be tough.”