{"id":5491,"date":"2008-10-11T12:07:20","date_gmt":"2008-10-11T12:07:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/sports\/compton-grinds-it-out-against-wilson\/"},"modified":"2008-10-11T12:07:20","modified_gmt":"2008-10-11T12:07:20","slug":"compton-grinds-it-out-against-wilson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/compton-grinds-it-out-against-wilson","title":{"rendered":"Compton Grinds It Out Against Wilson"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div style='float:left;padding-right:10px;padding-bottom:5px;'><img src='images\/archive\/sports\/photo89889.jpg' align='left' \/><\/div>\n<p>       <!--StartFragment-->             <\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12px;\">A  win is a win and a loss is a loss&mdash;some losses, though, hurt less than  others.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>Consider this: at halftime  of the Compton\/Wilson game on Friday, the score was 15-15.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>This despite the fact that Compton is  the highest-scoring offense in the Moore League, and despite the fact that  Wilson turned the ball over on each of its first three possessions, including a  fumble tossed errantly into the backfield, which Compton scooped up and ran  back for the touchdown.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>Although  down 15-0, Wilson battled back, scoring on two drives that couldn&#8217;t have been  more dissimilar; the first was a 17 play, 61-yard drive that ate up a lot of  clock (6:14 to be exact), an important statistic in a game that pitted two  teams with strong running games against each other.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>The second was a 60-yard touchdown scored by running back  Brandon Robertson, which took about six minutes less.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\" trebuchet=\"\" ms??=\"\">Despite  the miscues, Wilson battled back in, running the ball effectively (Robertson  had 20 carries for 145 yards in the first half) and coming up huge on  defense.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>&#8220;They did a great  job of bending without really ever breaking,&#8221; Wilson coach Mario Morales  said of his defensive unit, which only allowed one touchdown from Compton&#8217;s 150  yards of offense.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>The story for  both teams was pretty much the same, though: a possession-based run strategy,  hampered by mistakes.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>For Wilson,  it was the turnovers.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>For Compton,  it was penalties, a number of which came from false starts&mdash;on the night, they  had 18 flags thrown on them, for 125 yards.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>Stephen Barrett, starting QB for Wilson, and Jerry Maluia,  Compton&#8217;s QB, were a combined 0\/6 at halftime.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\" trebuchet=\"\" ms??=\"\"><object height=\"310\" width=\"380\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/86E_b79Hl4Q&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1\" \/><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/86E_b79Hl4Q&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" height=\"310\" width=\"380\"><\/object><br \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\" trebuchet=\"\" ms??=\"\">But  while the possession, and the score, were about even at halftime (Compton only  held the ball a minute longer than Wilson in the opening two quarters), things  began to shift after that.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>Compton  had the ball twice as long as Wilson in the third and fourth quarters, and  scored twice as many points.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>The  first TD came on a 93-yard kickoff return for a TD by Bryant Hayes, off the  opening kick, making the game 22-15 Compton.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>Then Wilson put together an impressive 9-play drive (which  included a converted fake punt) to go 63 yards for the score, capped by an  11-yard touchdown pass to Cheyne Garcia, one of Barrett&#8217;s three completions on  the night.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\" trebuchet=\"\" ms??=\"\">From  that point, Compton proved why they were undefeated coming into the contest,  churning up the running game (which was undergoing on-field adjustments as  starters Curry Williams and James McConico were both sidelined).<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>&#8220;It&#8217;s hard without them,&#8221;  Compton coach Calvin Bryant said, &#8220;But my guys can run.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>All my backs run track.&#8221;<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>Temporary starters Gerald Dill and  Byron Walker certainly can, and they got plenty of practice against Wilson,  combining for over 250 yards and a per-carry average of 7.6.<span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\" trebuchet=\"\" ms??=\"\">With  the run in full force, Compton chewed up a ton of clock, scoring on a 6:21  drive; they missed the extra point, but added on a safety in the fourth after a  bad snap went over Barrett&#8217;s head.<span style=\"\">&nbsp;  <\/span>Wilson got the ball back late in the fourth, down 30-22, knowing they  were just one big play away from stunning Compton.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>And they almost got it&mdash;senior receiver Christian Rogers  caught a short pass from Barrett, and took it 53 yards.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>It looked like he was going to get the  touchdown, but Compton&#8217;s USC-bound DB Chris Metcalf chased him down to save the  game.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><br \/><img decoding=\"async\" style='clear:left;' align='left' vspace='5' hspace='10'  src=\"http:\/\/i304.photobucket.com\/albums\/nn191\/LBPOSTphotos\/Sports\/IMG_1902.jpg\"   \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\" trebuchet=\"\" ms??=\"\">Wilson  started 1<sup>st<\/sup> and goal at the ten, but couldn&#8217;t put it in, the  last-ditch effort being a negative-yardage end-around to star receiver Jemari  Roberts, for only his second touch of the night (the first on another run  play).<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>Then Compton took over on  downs, and ran the clock out, securing a 30-22 victory to improve to 5-0, and  2-0 in league.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>Wilson falls to  3-3, with a 1-1 split in league.<span style=\"\">&nbsp;  <\/span>Compton will have to make do for now with their backup running backs,  but they&#8217;ll need to get their defense up to Moore League speed if they want to  take the number two spot behind Poly.<span style=\"\">&nbsp;  <\/span>For Wilson, it&#8217;s the same challenge they&#8217;ve faced all season long: How to  get Jemari enough touches to let him change a game for the better, while still  staying committed to a punishing running game that keeps their tough,  underrated defense off the field.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\" trebuchet=\"\" ms??=\"\"><b>Time  of Posession:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\" trebuchet=\"\" ms??=\"\">1<sup>st<\/sup>  Half: Wilson 11:20, Compton 12:40<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\" trebuchet=\"\" ms??=\"\">2<sup>nd<\/sup>  Half: Wilson 8:02, Compton 15:58<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\" trebuchet=\"\" ms??=\"\">Total:  Wilson 19:22, Compton 28:38<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\" trebuchet=\"\" ms??=\"\"><b>Individual  Performances:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\" trebuchet=\"\" ms??=\"\">Compton  QB Jerry Maluia: 2\/5, 46 yards (0\/3 in first half)<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\" trebuchet=\"\" ms??=\"\">Wilson  QB Stephen Barrett: 3\/11, 97 yards, TD (0\/3 in first half)<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\" trebuchet=\"\" ms??=\"\">Wilson  RB Brandon Robertson: 32-176, TD, 5.5 ypc; 20-145 TD in first, 12-30 in second<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\" trebuchet=\"\" ms??=\"\">Jemari  Roberts: No catches, two runs for 9 yards<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\" trebuchet=\"\" ms??=\"\">Compton  RB Gerald Dill 17-133, 7.8 ypc<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\" trebuchet=\"\" ms??=\"\">Compton  RB Byron Walker 16-120, 7.5 ypc<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\" trebuchet=\"\" ms??=\"\"><b>Team  Stats:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Wilson  295 total yards of offense; 198 yards rushing<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Compton  353 total yards of offense; 307 rushing<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Compton  18 penalties for 125 yards<\/p>\n<p>         <!--EndFragment-->                   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a tough battle that pitted running game against running game, Compton came out on top, 30-22.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-5491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5491\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5491"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=5491"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=5491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}