Rustlers Win Big In Season Opener

Golden West opened its season with a bang earning a convincing 47-13 victory over L.A. Harbor at LeBard Stadium.

Even though the score was lopsided, Golden West (1-0) did get off to a slow start. The Rustlers' defense allowed L.A. Harbor (0-1) to get to the red zone on the first drive after giving up a 48-yard run to Darren Walker. Following some fantastic goal line defense, the Seahawks settled for a 24-yard field goal by Jack Moore to take an early 3-0 lead.

After a drive where the Rustlers' offense went backwards, Walker broke free again for what looked to be a 45-yard touchdown. Luckily for the Ruslters, a holding penalty was called and L.A. Harbor went 3-and-out. Late in the first quarter, Golden West was finally able to figure it out on offense after a shanked punt marked the ball at L.A. Harbor's 25-yard-line. Sophomore quarterback Chris d'Entremont drove the offense to the 5-yard-line and delivered a strike toQuest Truxton to take a 6-3 lead.

Once the second half started, the scoring onslaught began for Golden West. Following a Charles Stevens interception of a failed deep pass, Johnny Hills was given the ball and he exploded for a 36-yard touchdown run in which he literally ran over a Seahawk defender. To make things worse, L.A. Harbor started the next drive on its own 8-yard-line. The Rustlers' defense pushed on them hard and Price Miller sacked the quarterback in the end zone for 2 points.

On the Rustlers' next drive, d'Entremont improved on his numbers by tossing a 25-yard score to Nik Little. L.A. Harbor still could not catch a break as Rustler defender Darren Weber recovered a Walker fumble on the Seahawks' 21-yard-line. Despite the good field position, Golden West dropped too many passes and settled for a 25-yard field goal by Adrian Avila. Avila then missed a 45-yard field goal as time expired, but no harm was done as Golden west went into the half with a commanding 26-3 lead.

D'Entremont picked up right where he left off completing a 28-yard missile to Zimari Manning. He would finish the game going 18-28 with 210 yards and 3 touchdowns. L.A. Harbor was able to shed a little light on its performance on the next two drives. On the ensuing kickoff, returner Cory Butler flew by the Rustlers' coverage for a 92-yard touchdown. One drive later, Moore was able to sink a 27-yard field goal making the score 33-13.

Golden West's backups did not want to take any chances and provided some late fourth quarter offense. At the beginning of the quarter, backup quarterback Chris Bell fired a third-down 61-yard bomb to Manning. On the next drive, it was the Kekou Akengue show as he ran the ball 13 times for 70 yards and finished with a 1-yard touchdown. That drive killed around 8 minutes and sealed the victory for Golden West.

The Rustlers will be in Bakersfield next week, but come home the week after to play Citrus at 6 p.m.