POMONA – La Quinta’s hopes of a road upset were dashed in one play.
The Aztecs, trailing by seven points, had the ball at the Ganesha 5-yard line and were facing a third-and-goal with 12 seconds to play in the first half. But Joseph Lopez’s pass was intercepted by the Giants’ Anthony Longsworth.
Longsworth took it back 95 yards for the pick six as the half expired, leaving the Aztecs trailing by 14 points.
Ganesha (4-2) then cruised past La Quinta, 33-3, on Friday in a final nonleague contest before facing rival Bolsa Grande next Friday.
“We moved the ball, but we turn the ball over way too often,” La Quinta coach Andy Diaz said. “We had some drives inside the 10-yard line and couldn’t finish. We’re going to work on that.”
Stephen Jafke’s 28-yard field goal with 4:48 to play in the game was the lone score for the Aztecs (1-4).
“We’re not a passing team, but we’ve got to get better,” Diaz said. “Next week, when we play Bolsa Grande, you can throw out the records, because anything can happen in a rivalry game.”
Albert Henry scored on runs of 7, 8 and 8 yards for Ganesha and finished with 119 yards on nine carries.
Dexter Sumner completed just one pass for Ganesha in a game that lasted just one hour and 56 minutes.
But Sumner rushed for 110 yards on 12 carries, including a 4-yard run with 4:34 to go in the first half to give the Giants a 7-0 lead it would not relinquish.
Vinny Tran led La Quinta with 44 yards on 10 carries.
