Brannon's 245-yard effort leads Pacifica

ANAHEIM - On a Friday night when Kennedy celebrated homecoming, Pacifica's Josh Brannon also made himself right at home — in the end zone.

Brannon rushed for 245 yards and five touchdowns as Pacifica defeated Kennedy, 40-13, in an Empire League game at Western High. (Full game stats.)

"He's definitely been our workhorse," said Pacifica coach Guy Gardner of his running  back, who has picked up the slack with starting quarterback Raymond Huizar injured.

Pacifica  (4-4, 2-1) played a near flawless first half in jumping out to a 34-0 lead. The  Mariners scored on each of their five possessions, amassing 259 yards of offense, 206 coming on the ground.

Brannon, who had 176 yards at the intermission, set the tone on  Pacifica's first drive, carrying five times for 51 yards, capping a six play drive with a  3-yard scoring run.

On the Mariners' next possession, Brannon broke through the line for a 39-yard touchdown. After Aaron Garcia recovered a Kennedy fumble inside the 5, Brannon's 1-yard score put Pacifica  up 21-0.

With 123 yards rushing after one quarter, Brannon added to his  scoring splurge with a 2-yard run with 8:15 left in the half.

Kennedy (3-5, 1-2) didn't record  its initial first down until midway through the second quarter.

The Fighting Irish were later twice stopped on downs inside the Pacifica 20 before Mike Evans got Kennedy on the board in the fourth quarter with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Nick  Rotherham. Evans would also score on a 4-yard run.

"We're really trying to focus on one week at a time," said Gardner. "(The win) means we've accomplished  our goal this week."

• Click here for full game stats and links to season totals and team rosters.

Contact the writer: preps@ocregister.com