Quartz Hill blanks Aztecs

QUARTZ HILL • There was something in the air on Homecoming Night.

And it wasn't merely the wind.

The most imposing homecoming of all was made by ballistic Quartz Hill football culture rarely seen in the past decade.

Deslonde Brown burst 49 yards for a touchdown on the Rebels' first snap; Josh Randenberg scored three touchdowns, and the defense added two more in a 49-0 rout of previously unbeaten Barstow (3-1).

Kyle Brooks tore off runs of 62 and 56 yards to set up two of Randenberg's touchdowns as the Rebels cleared the decks for their Golden League opener against Palmdale with a 3-0 record.

"That's a physical football team over there," said Quartz Hill coach Pat Degnan, alluding to the Aztecs' wins over Highland (48-42) and Antelope Valley (34-6). "There was no way I thought it would be this easy.

"Our kids ran the football hard all night, and we played defense hard all night."

Brooks made an acrobatic sideline interception to kill one drive and punishing Rebel defenders tore loose three fumbles.

Isaiah Culver did the scoop-and-score honors from 11 yards out on Barstow's second drive, just 1:44 after Brown’s opening touchdown.
Only 47 seconds after Randenberg's one-yard TD plow on the fourth play of the fourth quarter yo make it 42-0, Anthony D'Errico stopped Aztecs runner Aquino Spann after a 20-yard run. He separated him from the football and ran it back 35 yards for the Rebels' second defensive touchdown.

"The good thing tonight was we jumped out in front of them," Degnan said. "That is a tough offense to defend against with all the misdirection, but it's also not designed to come from behind.

"It's a bonus when you can score on defense. Our kids deserved it tonight, as hard as they played."

Following the homecoming halftime, Quartz Hill took the second half kickoff and marched 66 yards on seven plays.
Josh Firm found Brown with a screen pass for a 23-yard touchdown.

Quartz Hill was so dominant, even kicker Cole Wassner got into the act.

He went 7-for-7 on PATs.

The final suspense came with 2:31 to play.

With Spann running hard inside, Barstow marched from its own 20 to the Quartz Hill 3 on 15 plays.

Spann appeared to spill over the goal line on fourth down from the 3, but officials ruled his knee had touched the ground first, thus preserving Quartz Hill's shutout.

Quartz Hill looked impressive in winning. But Degnan would only go so far.

"Next week," the Quartz Hill coach said, "we'll find out if we're for real."


Quartz Hill 49, Barstow 0


Barstow       0    0   0     0 -  0
Quartz Hill 21   7    7   14 - 0

First Quarter
 QH _ Brown 49 run (Wassner kick) 9:28;
 QH _ Culver 11 run with fumble (Wassner kick) 7:57
 QH _ Randenberg 13 run (Wassner kick) 4:22;
Second Quarter
 QH _ Randenberg 10 run (Wassner kick) :50;

Third Quarter
 QH _ Brown 23 pass from Firm (Wassner kick) 7:44;
Fourth Quarter
 QH _ Randenberg 1 run (Wassner kick) 10:37;
 QH _D'Errico 35 run with fumble Wassner kick) 9:50
                                          B           QH
First Downs                   10            9
Third-Down Conv.        0-8        4-5
Fourth-Down Conv.      0-2        0-0
Rushes-Yards             44-198   29-254
Passing                           1-4          5-6
Passing Yards                   4      111
Total Yards                       202    365
Penalties-Yards              3-20   6-42
Fumbles-Lost                   4-3    1-1
Punts-Avg.                       4-35   2-32.5

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Barstow: D.Webb 13-27, C.Webb 5-26, Hamdan 4-(-6), Thomas 6-43, Yarber 1-5, Spann 11-81. Quartz Hill: Brown 10-83-1, Brooks 8-142, Randenberg 6-37-3, Reeves 4-2, Assad 1-(-10).
Passing - Barstow: Hamdan 1-4-4. Quartz Hill: Firm 5-6-111-1.
Receiving - Barstow: C. Webb 1-4. Quartz Hill: Brown 2-52, Culver 3-59.