ANAHEIM Katella running back Jameyson Mowdy ran wild on Thursday night, compiling a career-high 257 yards on 32 carries in the Knights’ dominating performance over Magnolia, 49-6, in an Orange League contest at Western High.
It was obvious from its first possession, Katella (4-3, 2-0) felt it had a sizeable advantage in the trenches. In the first half alone, Mowdy carried the ball 27 times for 196 yards and a touchdown.
“I’m very proud of the way we executed on both sides of the ball,” Knights coach Fred DiPalma said. “The offensive and defensive lines really played well for us.”
Katella opened the game with a 13-play, 82-yard scoring drive that saw the Knights run the ball 11 times. Sebastian Damasco capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge, putting the Knight ahead 7-0 midway through the first.
A steady diet of Mowdy and two turnovers by Magnolia (2-5, 0-2) resulted in 28 second-quarter points for Katella.
The Knights ended the opening half with a backbreaking 97-yard drive that took only three minutes to orchestrate.
Having thrown only four passes with two minutes to go in the second quarter, Katella quarterback Ricardo Armenta used a play-action fake to burn the Sentinels secondary, leaving Isaac Sosa wide open for a 50-yard touchdown strike that gave the Knights a 35-0 edge at the break.
After allowing five touchdown drives of 50-plus yards in last week’s loss to Savanna, Magnolia’s defense allowed another five such scoring drives.
Katella finished the game with 535 yards of total offense, 434 coming on the ground.
“This is the kind of effort you hope can propel you into the coming weeks,” DiPalma added.
The Sentinels’ lone score of the game came on a 72-yard fumble return by defensive back Luis Dorado late in the third quarter.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
