It was the tale of two halves at Jordan High School on Friday night as the Panthers pounded the Beverly Hills Normans into submission, 28-13.  After allowing 144 yards in the first half, the Jordan defensive unit gave up only 99 yards, picked off two passes, and held the Normans scoreless in the second half.

“We had to make an adjustment on the defensive line,” said Jordan coach Scott Meyer.  “They were getting up a little slower in the second half.”

The hard-hitting Panthers were put on their heels early when Beverly Hills took its opening position to the end zone in four plays, with running back Brandon Bank busting it up the middle for the 30-yard score. 

The Jordan offense looked sluggish in their first few drives.  Quarterback John Timu used his feet to buy time, but he couldn’t find a reliable target.  He spent more time scrambling than anything else while the Jordan offensive line couldn’t create consistent running lanes.

After David Saedi took it in from ten yards out to put Beverly Hills up 13-0 in the middle of the second quarter, Jordan needed a spark, and they got it from Timu.

Struggling to make plays in the power-I and single back shotgun sets, the Jordan offense put an extra body next to Timu in an effort to protect their best playmaker.  The shifty QB proceeded to go 4-for-7 on the drive, and capped it off with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Taniela Maka.  The Panthers converted five third downs during the 17-play, 80-yard scoring drive that ate up 6:30 minutes.

The dominant drive restarted the Jordan engine, and they forced the Normans into a quick three-and-out with 50 seconds left in the half.  C.J. Willey took the ensuing punt back down the sideline to the Norman 20-yard line.  On the next play, Timu found tight end Brendan Hardman at the goal line, and the 6-4 senior stretched out for the touchdown catch, making it 14-13 Jordan at the half.

Beverly Hills looked reinvigorated when it got down to the Jordan 16-yard line on its first drive of the half.  But on fourth-and-six, Maka came up with a huge sack and Beverly Hills didn’t get past the Jordan 30-yard line for the rest of the game.

Maka, who is headed to Arizona University, paced the defense, and scored again on the next Jordan drive with an impressive 28-yard touchdown scamper.  He only touched the ball eight times, but racked up 102 yards and two touchdowns.

Timu went 10-for-21, 112 yards and two TDs, while Hardman finished with three catches for 41 yards and what turned out to be the game-winning score.