On a night when Santa Monica High was content to run the ball, quarterback Ryan Katz continued his assault on the school record book in passing.
Katz threw only 11 passes and played only in the first half, but fired four for touchdowns in a 49-7 rout of Inglewood last Friday at Coleman Stadium, where Inglewood plays its home games.
Katz has thrown 10 touchdown passes in the last two games and no passer in Samohi history has done better. The one-game record was five until he had six the previous week.
Unlike the previous game against Roosevelt, when Samohi Coach Michael Burnett figured the best chance was with passing, the game plan this time was to feature the running attack.
Tailback Lewis Adeyemi had 17 carries for 150 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown.
“We’re well balanced,” said Burnett. “We have the weapons to feature the run or the pass. We look at each opponent and decide what to do. In this case we felt running would be best.”
Samohi built a 35-0 halftime lead and backup Cameron Collins, who’s also a star receiver, played quarterback in the second half.
Katz was 7-for-11. Samohi scored on its opening drive on an eight-yard pass from Katz to Collins and scored on its next possession on a 15-yard pass from Katz to tight end Christoff Neuman.
After missing the extra point following the first touchdown and failing on a two-point try after the second one the Vikings led, 12-0.
Katz added another touchdown pass to Neuman and one to fullback Chapin Herman before intermission and the Vikings also had a safety.
The sophomore made his varsity debut this season as a heralded prospect but hadn’t been asked to do a great deal in the first four games.
Samohi again dominated the first half, as it hsd done in recent weeks. when the Vikings get comfortably ahead their defense make it difficut for opponents to come back.
The Ocean League race is shaping up as a three-way battle among Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Culver City. Undefeated Beverly Hills had an impressive 55-14 win Friday over defending league champion Hawthorne.
After winning the league and one CIF playoff game last season, Hawthorne is 1-5.
Santa Monica will be home Friday (Corsair Field, 7 p.m.) against Morningside, which is winless but made a strong showing in a loss to Culver City on Friday, staying within a touchdown until the fourth quarter.
With games against Culver City and Beverly Hills coming up, Burnett’s task this week was to prevent his players from being overconfident against Morningside, which has talent.
“That’s the best 0-6 team I’ve seen,” said Burnett. “The best way to get our players focused on the game is to show them the film of Morningside against Culver City, which we’ve done.”
The league is usually granted three playoff berths and those appear to be decided. However, it’s important for the top teams to keep winning as they duel for high seeds. The third place team, for instance, will get a tougher first round opponent and will most likely travel.Samohi’s only loss was to Venice, a power in the Los Angeles City Section.
