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Schools

Football: Pasadena Hangs on for First Win

One team got its first win while the other is still searching for a victory.

Pasadena defeated La Salle on Friday night, 21-14 as the Bulldogs improved to 1-2 this season. Dating back to last season, the Lancers have lost 14 games in a row.

Bulldogs quarterback Brandon Cox led the way with 209 yards passing and two touchdowns. Cox was 13 for 23 passing and also led the team in rushing with 10 carries for 35 yards.

Pasadena dominated the passing attack, but it was never able to get separation from the struggling Lancers (0-4).

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“It was mental mistakes we made,” Pasadena coach Randy Horton said. “I felt it start to come apart. I’ll take the win. It was ugly. Offensively, we made too many mistakes.”

Receiver Marcus Green had six catches for 80 yards while Riian Simpson caught three balls for 83 yards. Armon Easley had 46 yards receiving.

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“We saw a lot of holes on film,” Horton said. “The middle of the defense was open at times. Brandon had time to throw and at other times he didn’t. We started off hot then we started to relax a little bit.”

Despite the impressive offensive stats, La Salle had a chance to tie the game with less than two minutes to play.

Lancers quarterback Jalen Gray suffered a head injury on that drive which forced him to be taken away by ambulance on a stretcher. The game was delayed for about 20 minutes to attend to his injury.

Gray rushed for 32 yards and passed for 37. He shared the quarterbacking duties with Michael Norvell. Norvell was six for 16 passing for 63 yards, but came up short on the last drive of the game.

“We’re getting better,” La Salle coach Antoine Peterson said. “This was another one we let get away. The defense stood up and played well. We just didn’t score enough points.”

Isreal Lacy was a real workhorse for La Salle with 97 rushing yards on 18 carries. Lacy scored the opening touchdown for the Lancers, an impressive opening drive in which La Salle ran the ball 10 straight times ending in Lacy’s 13-yard score.

“Even if we were 4-0 we’d be 0-0 come next week,” Peterson said. “We need to come back and clean up the little things and get better.”

Next week both teams begin league play on the road. Pasadena (Pacific) travels to Burroughs while La Salle (Del Rey) is at Bosco Tech.

La Salle             7    0    7    0    —   14
Pasadena          7    14   0    0    —   21

First quarter

LS Lacy 13 run (Albright kick)

P Bates 3 run (Jernagin kick)

Second quarter

P Cox 9-yd pass to Green (Jernagin kick)

P Cox 24-yd pass to Easley (Jernagin kick)

Third quarter

LS Lewis 12 run (Albright kick)

Leaders

Passing: La Salle — Novell (6 of 16, 63 yards); Pasadena — Cox (13 of 23, 209 yards)

Rushing: La Salle — Lacy (18 carries, 97 yards); Pasadena — Cox (10 carries, 35 yards)

Receiving: La Salle — Hall (3 receptions, 51 yards); Pasadena — Green (6 receptions, 80 yards)

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