Antelope Valley Outguns East L.A., 49-35, to Stay Unbeaten

The Antelope Valley College defense breathed a collective sigh of relief Saturday night when the clock finally ran out on visiting East L.A. and quarterback Johnny Gomez.

Antelope Valley entered the game with the sixth-ranked defense in the state but was picked apart by Gomez and Co. for 490 yards before emerging with a 49-35 victory in a Foothill Conference game.

The Marauders took a seemingly insurmountable 35-14 lead with 13 minutes 47 seconds to play on Al Dawkins’ 10-yard touchdown run, but East L.A. scored on its next two possessions to narrow the deficit to 35-28 with 9:18 remaining.

Antelope Valley marched 80 yards in nine plays on its next possession, capped by Greg Graham’s 18-yard touchdown run, to take a 42-28 lead with 4:31 left, but East L.A. scored 29 seconds later on a 67-yard pass from Gomez to Jaime Lopez.

Antelope Valley (4-0-1, 3-0 in conference play) finally put the game away on its next possession by marching 67 yards in five plays. Graham’s 29-yard run capped the drive, but East L.A. drove to the Antelope Valley one-yard line before time expired.

Gomez, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound sophomore, completed 26 of 51 passes for 416 yards and four touchdowns.

Luckily for Antelope Valley, the Marauders were even more lethal on offense, particularly in running the ball. The Marauders gained 404 of their 581 yards on the ground.

Dawkins gained a game-high 161 yards in 20 carries and scored two touchdowns, and Graham added 122 yards in 12 carries.

Marauder quarterback Ryan Callahan completed 11 of 18 for 177 yards.

Leading, 28-14, late in the third quarter, Antelope Valley embarked on a 16-play, 95-yard march and took what appeared to be a commanding three-touchdown lead early in the fourth quarter on Dawkins’ 10-yard run.

East L.A. (0-4, 0-2), however, refused to fold.

After a long kickoff return and a subsequent personal-foul penalty on Antelope Valley, the Huskies marched 43 yards in seven plays, capped by Gomez’s seven-yard scoring pass to Jaime Lopez with 11:47 left.

Antelope Valley, which entered the game allowing only 172 yards a game, took a 28-14 lead with 10:09 left in the third quarter on Dawkins’ 12-yard touchdown run.