Notre Dame Takes Fast Track to a Title

Carrying the football as if it were a track baton, quarterback Garrett Green and running backs Cary Harris and Rodney Harris of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame displayed gold-medal-like speed Friday night in delivering a third consecutive Southern Section Division III football championship.

Harris rushed for 120 yards and scored three touchdowns, Green rushed for 118 yards and scored one touchdown and Glass had 100 yards and scored one touchdown as the Knights (14-0) defeated Compton Dominguez, 38-21, at Notre Dame.

“It’s an amazing accomplishment,” Green said. “Bringing home the trophy again is awesome.”

Notre Dame never trailed, but Dominguez (12-2) provided plenty of competition with its own speed. Quarterback Marvin Johnson’s scrambling enabled him to pull off pass plays of 36 and 41 yards, Darryl Crummie had a 69-yard kickoff return, and the Dons dared the Knights to run past them with an aggressive nine-man front.

“They were able to make the big plays,” Dominguez Coach Willie Donerson said.

Harris scored on Notre Dame’s first offensive play with a 42-yard run. But for the Knights to win their Southern Section-leading 22nd consecutive game, they had to endure some anxious moments.

The final 45 seconds of the first half offered hope and frustration for Dominguez. On a 93-yard, 11-play drive, the Dons twice converted first downs on fourth down. Then Crummie scored on a four-yard run with 42 seconds left, cutting Notre Dame’s lead to 10-7.

The Knights seemed content to go into the locker room and regroup. But Glass took a handoff and ran 75 yards for a touchdown as time expired.

Undaunted by the change in fortunes, Dominguez’s Ramon Hamilton intercepted a Green pass on the first play of the third quarter, returning it to the Notre Dame 20. That set up Johnson’s two-yard touchdown run, and Dominguez trailed, 17-14.

Each time the Dons got close, Notre Dame would respond with a ground game that featured three members from their 400-meter relay team that finished fifth in the state last season.

Glass, a junior who’s the reigning Division III champion in the 100 and 200, was in tears afterward. “I’ve been playing football for nine years, and this is my first championship,” he said.

For Notre Dame Coach Kevin Rooney, in his 25th season, this might have been his best team. The Knights were expected to win every game, and they did.

“It’s great they stepped up when they had to,” Rooney said.