Kenny Portera scored three touchdowns and quarterback Matt McLaughlin tossed three TD passes - two to TD Robert Moffatt - as host Leland routed Christopher, 47-0, Friday night in both teams' final tuneup before league play starts next week. The Chargers (1-2) bounced back from a blowout loss at the hands of top-ranked Mitty to post their first win of the season, while the Cougars (0-4) are now winless in three games against BVAL competition.
Leland got off to a quick start by taking advantage of two turnovers deep in Christopher territory to take a quick 20-0 first-quarter lead. After the Cougars fumbled a punt, Leland tailback Jack Pizzo scored on a 14-yard run on the very next play, running through a gaping hole on the right side to put the Chargers on the board, 6-0, with 8:11 left in the first quarter.
Portera then scored the next two Charger touchdowns in similar fashion on bruising runs through the left side. His first score came on a fourth-and-2 from the Christopher 17 on a play in which he broke several tackles and spun into the end zone to extend the lead to 13-0 with 1:35 left in the first quarter.
Christopher fumbled the ball away on its very next play from scrimmage and Portera capitalized again, again running left for a 15-yard score to make it 20-0, Leland, with 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Leland defense held Christopher without a first down in a dominant first-half performance, and the offense took advantage of good field position by striking for a pair of late second-quarter touchdowns to increase the lead to 34-0 at the break. McLaughlin, a junior quarterback and standout baseball player, found Moffatt on similar corner routes down the right sideline from 19 and 20 yards out, the second of which came with just 39 seconds remaining in the first half.
McLaughlin tossed another TD pass in the second half, to Portera and Chris Mohs scored on a one-yard run to increase Leland's lead to 47-0 over Christopher, which opened the season with losses to BVAL foes Sobrato and Live Oak. Both teams open league play next Friday night as Leland visits Piedmont Hills in BVAL action, while Christopher hosts Alvarez in Monterey Bay League-Gabilan action.
