Sylmar Backs Pick Up Slack in 28-13 Victory

For anyone who thought that the Sylmar High football team was a one-man show--in other words, Jerome Casey--you can guess again.

The Spartans proved that Friday night, rushing for 267 yards in a 28-13 win over North Hollywood that clinched the East Valley League title.

Casey rushed for 154 yards in 11 carries and scored twice, but when the Spartan junior got knocked out of the game by a hard hit early in the fourth quarter, teammates Chris Pikes, Calvin Edwards, Robert Augustus, Donald Ward and Neil Trusso picked up the slack.

The Spartans (6-3, 5-2 in league play) held a precarious 21-13 lead when Casey went out but used a ball-control offense and some hard-hitting defense in the final period to run out the clock.

Sylmar got a big break with 8:15 left when Mike Lewis fumbled a punt at the North Hollywood 36-yard line and Trusso recovered the ball on the Husky 20.

“That was a crucial play for us,” Sylmar Coach Jeff Engilman said. “That was the type of play we weren’t making in the first half of the season.”

After the fumble recovery, Sylmar marched 20 yards in 5 plays, capped by quarterback Chris Pikes’ 9-yard bootleg. Calvin Edwards, a wide receiver who caught 3 passes for 28 yards, gained 11 yards in 4 carries during the drive.

Sylmar led, 21-7, at the half after amassing 217 yards in total offense.

Trailing, 14-0, early in the second quarter North Hollywood (4-5, 4-3) cut the deficit in half on a 50-yard run around left end by Tim Sutton, who led the Huskies with 134 yards in 26 carries.

Sylmar wasted little time in retaliating as Casey streaked 65 yards to score his second touchdown of the game on the next play from scrimmage. Oscar Romo’s conversion gave Sylmar a 21-7 lead with 9:23 remaining in the second quarter.

“They just had too much artillery,” North Hollywood Coach Fred Grimes said. “Just too much damn artillery. We played well--I’m really proud of the way the kids came back in the second half--but we were overmatched.”