Photos by Nick Ellis
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North 0 28 7 6-41
Arvin 7 7 0 7-21
First Quarter
AHS-Jonathan Moreno 6 run (Josue Salazar kick)
Second Quarter
NHS-Xarionn Wallace Foreman 28 pass from Carson Bennett (Evan Siffing kick)
AHS-Jonathan Moreno 5 run (Josue Salazar kick)
NHS-Mar Kai Shaw 56 run (Evan Siffing kick)
NHS-Mar Kai Shaw 1 run (Evan Siffing kick)
NHS-Mario Gonzales 2 pass from Carson Bennett (Evan Siffing kick)
Third Quarter
NHS-Xarionn Wallace Foreman 29 pass from Carson Bennett (Evan Siffing kick)
Fourth Quarter
NHS-Xarionn Wallace Foreman 24 pass from Carson Bennett (kick failed)
AHS-Kevin Cordova 2 run (Josue Salazar kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-NHS: Mar Kai Shaw 15-195, Mario Gonzales 2-31, Brody Napier 5-0, Team 1-(-1), Carson Bennett 7-(-9); AHS: Jonathan Moreno 17-114, Daniel Noriega 7-65, Chris Carlos 9-36, Anthony Sarabia 1-12, Freddie Pulido 1-11, Josue Salazar 2-3, Kevin Cordova 1-2, Jesus Rojas 1-0.
PASSING-NHS: Carson Bennett 10-12-0-132; AHS: Anthony Sarabia 4-10-0-59, Jesus Rojas 1-1-0-18.
RECEIVING-NHS: Xarionn Wallace Foreman 4-92, Mario Gonzales 3-23, Evan Siffing 2-11, Mar Kai Shaw 1-6; AHS: Daniel Noriega 2-40, Joaquin Currichi 2-22, Jorge Morales 1-15.
RECORDS-North (1-2); Arvin (1-3)
BY STEPHEN LYNCH
ARVIN--For the North High football team, the key to success against Arvin on Thursday night was all about finding and exploiting favorable matchups.
It took a quarter, but the visiting Stars eventually found what they were looking for and made the most of it.
North scored touchdowns on all four of its second-quarter possessions to overcome an early 7-0 deficit en route to 41-21 victory over the Bears at Frank Barle Stadium.
Mar Kai Shaw ran the ball 15 times for 195 yards and two touchdowns and Xarionn Wallace Foreman had four receptions for 92 yards and three touchdowns for North, which dominated the final three quarters.
“Xarionn had a good game,” North coach Richie Bolin, who celebrated his 34th birthday on Thursday, said. “That’s somebody that we have to be able to go to. So, tonight was a big night for him and our running back Mar Kai Shaw. Those are two guys we tried to get going and make (Arvin) pick their poison.”
The explosive Shaw had 156 yards rushing and both of his TDs in the first half as North pulled away to a 28-14 halftime lead.
The junior running back’s 56-yard TD dash tied the game, 14-14, with 8:32 remaining in the first half.
And then just 43 seconds after Arvin fumbled away the ensuing kickoff return, Shaw found the end zone again, this time from a yard out.
His 24-yard run one play earlier set up the go-ahead touchdown.
Shaw finished with four runs of 24 or more yards.
All three of Foreman Wallace’s TD grabs were from 24 or more yards (24, 28, 29).
Foreman Wallace, 6-foot-2, 220-pound outside receiver, was just too strong and athletic for Arvin’s secondary to handle.
“We were just trying to find some matchups that were in our favor,” Bolin said. “Getting live game reps for receivers and quarterbacks is big. So, for us, it was let’s find that rhythm tonight. Let’s work on that. That’s something that with only two games that we had to focus on this week in practice. We found our matchups and we attacked those.”
Foreman Wallace twice made leaping grabs over defenders for touchdowns. His third came after, he caught a 10-yard pass from North quarterback Carson Bennett and then powered through the arms of a would-be Bears tackler before racing into the end zone.
That 29-yard TD pass and catch capped off the first possession of the second half and put the Stars firmly in control, 35-14.
“We went blow for blow for a little bit,” Bolin said. “We kind of had them on the ropes at halftime. Our big challenge was just finish. Just finish somebody. With the COVID and everything, it was good to get a week a few days last week to get us in the swing as we come into our good final test before league. It’s good to get this win. It gives their confidence going as we go forward.”
Arvin started out strong on both sides of the ball. The Bears took the game’s opening possession and methodically drove 81 yards on all runs for a touchdown.
Three plays after Jonathan Moreno’s 6-yard touchdown run put the Bears in front 7-0 with 6:58 left in the first quarter, Arvin’s defense forced North to punt.
The Stars, who scored TDs on its next six possessions didn’t punt again until late in the fourth quarter.
Despite holding a 14-point lead at intermission, the Stars were out-gained by the Bears, 210-202 in the first half.
Most of that yardage came on runs by Moreno, who finished with 17 carries for 114 yards and a pair of TDs.
But after gaining 164 yards rushing in the first half, North’s defense held the Bears to 77 yards rushing in the second half.
“We had to change up our defense because they were doing such a good job on their sweeps,” Bolin said. “We had to move out a defensive back, move in an extra linebacker. So, we had to make some sideline adjustments on the fly. Our coaching staff did a great job with that.”
Arvin coach Edgar Mares felt the fumbled kickoff return was the turning point of the game.
“Obviously I was hoping things would go our way.” Mares said. “I thought came out strong and we were able to move the ball. But we had an early turnover and it seemed like we got deflated from there. And they hit some big plays.”
Shaw and Wallace Foreman were responsible for most of the big plays that hurt the Bears, but Bennett also played a big part in the Stars' prolific offensive night. He was 10 of 12 passing with four touchdowns.