By Michael Kaplan
Quarterback John Howe â07 led the charge as the Wolverines earned their second straight victory, 38-14, last Friday night against La Cañada, the second-ranked team in the CIF Southern Sectionâs Mid-Valley Division. The previous week, the Wolverines defeated 15th ranked Carson 31-30 at the Home Depot Center.
The Wolverines were able to shut down La Cañada running back Lavelle Peterson, who has already committed to Arizona State, and received their second straight four touchdown game from Howe. The win gave the Wolverines a 3-2 record heading into their league opener against St. Bernard.
Howe completed 14 of 15 pass attempts, including 12 in a row at one point, while an increasingly consistent defense forced three La Cañada turnovers.
“We are playing solid football right now,” Head Coach Vic Eumont said after the game. “Everyone is getting their job done; the defense is playing at a high level, the offense is playing good, even the special teams look sharp.” Eumont may be referring to a first quarter blocked punt and a 35 yard field goal from Zack Mirman â07.
During the Carson game, Howe rushed for a touchdown and threw three touchdown passes, including a 14 yard touchdown pass to Ryan Calvert â07 that put the Wolverines up for good.
The magic began for the Wolverines midway through the fourth quarter, when they trailed 30-19. Calvert returned an ensuing Carson kickoff to just past midfield. Then the Wolverines closed the gap to 30-25 with a 14 yard touchdown pass from Howe to Clark Porter â07.
The Wolverine defense stiffened and forced a pair of Carson turnovers, the second a Terry OâNeal â07 interception with just over four minutes remaining. That set up the game winning touchdown pass from Howe to Calvert that gave the Wolverines their first lead of the game, 31-30, with just under three minutes left. All it took was Elias De Witâs â07 interception on the final play of the game to seal the victory and the celebration began.
“It was a great win for this program in a great atmosphere,” Eumont said after the game. “There hasnât been a victory like this for Harvard-Westlake football in quite a while.”
From the moment they received the opening kickoff, it appeared as though the heavily favored Colts were going to flex their muscle and run right over the Wolverine defense. On their opening drive, the Colts marched down the field in six plays, scoring on a 22 yard run by Carson running back Steve Boyd, but missed the extra point.
The Colts jumped out to an early lead after a Wolverine botched snap on a punt which led to a Carson touchdown, making the score 18-3.
Like a machine, they moved down the field and Boyd scored his third touchdown of the game to give the Colts a 30-19 lead. However, the Colts defense failed to stop the Wolverines in the fourth quarter, allowing the 12 point comeback.
“This win gives us our season back,” Howe said after the Carson game. “We were a little disappointed because we thought weâd be going into this game 3-0, but we were 1-2. Now weâre 2-2 and with wins like this, we are looking to make playoffs.”
After a season opening loss to Pasadena, the Wolverinesâ offense took off in a 42-0 win over Van Nuys, but then suffered a heartbreaking 35-31 loss to Burroughs. The Wolverines will be 3-2 when they play their league opener against St. Bernard this Friday.
