Granada Hills Keeps Franklin Covered in a 19-7 Victory

Darryl Stroh has always been a blood-and-guts kind of coach during his tenure at Granada Hills High, the sort of leader whose stomach churns at the slightest mistake, the type who likes his defense to put the hurt on the opponent whenever possible.

Friday night’s interdivisional game with City Section opponent Franklin must have really been appealing, because two of Stroh’s Highlander players were covered in blood--before the kickoff. Both were bleeding profusely from the nose after mishaps in warmups. One player, in fact, was bloodied while taking a high-five hand slap from another.

And defense, the rough and tough way, was the savior as Granada Hills defeated Franklin, 19-7, at Granada Hills.

“I’ve been to a lot of games on this field,” Stroh said. “And that was the best defensive effort I’ve ever seen.”

Granada Hills (2-0) held Franklin’s high-powered passing attack to 191 yards--a pretty mean feat considering Panther quarterback Santiago Alvarez attempted 52 passes, completing 21 for one touchdown with two interceptions.

Franklin Coach Armando Gonzalez practically dared Stroh--the Granada Hills defensive coach--to try to get by with single coverage on the Panther receivers. Not only did the Highlanders succeed, they did so with flying colors, if you will.

“I heard all summer that you couldn’t cover their receivers with one guy,” Stroh sneered. “They scored one touchdown and they needed 45 yards in penalties.”

Indeed, Granada Hills stormed to a 19-0 lead before Franklin scored in the fourth quarter--with an assist from two personal-foul calls and a pass interference penalty from the Granada Hills’ defense.

The Highlanders led, 7-0, at the half, but scored 13 points in the third quarter to put the game away.

Highlander running back Brett Washington, who also played the entire game at linebacker, scored from 13 yards with 7:21 left in the third quarter to give Granada Hills a 13-0 lead. Washington finished with a game-high 158 yards.

Granada Hills scored less than a minute later when the defense held Franklin (1-1) at its own 23 and a punt snap sailed past Emilio Marquez, who retreated to the goal line and made a feeble swipe at the ball as it rolled into the end zone. Derrick Stewart pounced on the ball for a 19-0 lead.

The Highlander offense hit the gas on the game’s first play, with wide receiver Jermaine Love scooting 46 yards on a reverse to set up the lone score of the first half, an eight-yard pass from Bryan Martin to William Moringlane with 7:12 left in the quarter. Martin, making his first start, completed four of 14 passes for 17 yards.

Franklin had no trouble moving the ball downfield through the air in the half--until it moved within striking range of the goal line. The Panthers’ second possession ended when Marquez missed a 32-yard field goal. In the second quarter, Franklin took over at the Granada Hills’ 26 following a Washington fumble. On first down, however, Alvarez’s pass was intercepted in the end zone by defensive back Leon Glasgow.

Glasgow pulled the trick again in the closing moments of the half. Franklin drove to the Granada Hills 16-yard line with 41 seconds left, but Glasgow again stepped in, intercepting the ball at the one-yard line.