The Las Lomas Knights were struggling mightily entering this weekend, with two losses and two poor defensive efforts to start the season.
These struggles were halted on Saturday.
In a matchup between crosstown rivals, the Knights earned their first victory of the season with a 35-10 road victory over their longtime nemesis, the Northgate Broncos, in the annual “Battle of the Creek”.
“It was an important win,” said Knights head coach Doug Longero.“We we’re 0-2 and we needed this game.”
Las Lomas (1-2) did the majority of its damage on the ground, running for 184 yards and four touchdowns. Junior Marquis Waters was the leader carrying the ball for the Knights, going for 104 yards and a touchdown. Senior quarterback Lucas Gorton had a big day for the Knights, with 83 yards through the air and 35 more on the ground, accounting for three touchdowns.
“There were wide open holes, and their guys couldn’t handle our guys,” said Waters.“We dominated all day.”
On defense, Las Lomas played much better than they had in either of the two previous weeks. The Broncos (1-2) only threw for 36 yards and ran for 128. Despite a twenty-one play drive to begin the second half that lasted the whole third quarter and culminated with a three yard touchdown run, the Broncos had problems moving the ball.
“We needed this game,” said senior Michael Morgan.“It was big because [next week’s opponent] Rocklin is really good.”
Next Friday, Las Lomas will travel to Rocklin for a rematch from last year, when the Knights won a thrilling game at home.