University High Football Wins Again

Alif Vannah threw three touchdown passes and Eddie Aguilar returned an onside kick 45 yards for a touchdown as the University High football team defeated Panorama 28-13 Friday afternoon to stay undefeated.

It is University's first winning streak since 2008 and the first time the Wildcats have opened the season 2-0 since they won their first seven games in 2005 under then coach E.C. Robinson.

Vannah threw a screen pass to Doug Brown on the Wildcats' first possession and the junior wide receiver did the rest, racing 60 yards for the first score of the game.

"I give Doug all the credit on that one," Vannah said. "I got him the ball and he made some great moves to take it all the way."

On the first play of the second quarter, Vannah hit Dominique Heads in stride from 20 yards out and Heads trotted into the end zone, padding the Wildcats' lead.

"We went to play-action, they bit on the run and he was wide open," Vannah said. "The offensive line was giving me a lot of time to throw so I wanted to advantage of that."

Panorama threatened to score late in the second quarter, driving to the Wildcats' 30, but linebacker Eddie Aguilar picked off a short pass by quarterback Enrique Camacho.

The score remained 14-0 University at halftime.

Cristian Gonzalez pulled the visiting Pythons to within one score on a one-yard with 7:04 left in the third quarter, but University responded on a one-yard pass from Vannah to Brown in the corner of the end zone that gave the Wildcats a 21-7 lead.

Panorama didn't quit, pulling to within 21-13 on a three-yard run by Gonzalez with 3:34 left in the fourth quarter. The Pythons recovered the ensuing onside kick but were called for illegal procedure and on the second attempt Ruben Zamudio scooped up the ball and galloped 41 yards for the clinching score.

The Pythons had one last chance when Matt Woodall raced 64 yards before being shoved out of bounds by a hustling Sharieff Muhammad inside the 5-yard line. 

However, Camacho was pressure out of the pocket and his wobbly shovel pass was intercepted at the 8-yard line by Muhammad, who returned it to the 15 with just over one minute left. The Wildcats proceeded to run out the clock and their second victory was secured.

"We had to fight today and that will only make us better," University Coach Lee Lowe said. "We have to cut down on our penalties but it's all about making plays and I was pleased that we didn't panic on the goal line. We only have three seniors of the starting 11 on defense."

Prior to last week's 46-6 victory over Animo South Los Angeles the Wildcats had lost 28 of their previous 29 games—including 24 in a row. Now they carry back-to-back wins into their biggest challenge of the season--a Thursday night road game against CIF Southern Section powerhouse Los Alamitos at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. 

"We're coming there to win," said Lowe, who served as an assistant coach under Robinson. "We have one less day to practice, but we have nothing to lose. We've been in the gutter for years so it's great for our program. They have a legendary coach and most of their guys are Division I players, but we'll play as hard as we can and see where it takes us."

Vannah, who threw one touchdown pass last fall, has six in two games so far this season. He isn't going to rest on his laurels, however, with at least eight more games left.

"We have to come out twice as hard in practice next week," he said. "We love the feeling of winning and we don't want it to end."

Score by Quarters

1

Final

Panorama

0

7

13

University

7

Scoring Summary

University -- Brown 60 pass from Vannah (Juarez kick), 10:01 left in 1st qtr.

University -- Heads 20 pass from Vannah (Juarez kick), 11:54 left in 2nd qtr.

Panorama -- Gonzalez 1 run (Penate kick), 7:04 left in 3rd qtr.

University -- Brown 1 pass from Vannah (Juarez kick), 1:45 left in 3rd qtr.

Panorama -- Gonzalez 3 run (kick failed), 3:34 left in 4th qtr.

University -- Zamudio 45 kickoff return (Juarez kick), 3:28 left in 4th qtr.

Records: Panorama 0-3; University 2-0.