Cowboys Lasso Diamond Ranch In Season Opener, 41-28

Too much Xavier Browne and too many costly turnovers proved too much for Diamond Ranch to handle in Friday's 41-28 season-opening loss against Chino High.

Browne, a senior running back, tormented the Panthers (0-1) through the entire night, rushing for 175 yards on 31 carriers with three touchdowns.

"We knew he was a good one. He made us miss tackles all game," Diamond Ranch head coach Roddy Layton said. "You judge a good running back by how many yards they can get after contact and he got lots of them on us."

The Panthers proved up to the task at the start, matching Chino's opening touchdown with sophomore running back William Bryan's 39-yard touchdown run up the gut.

Parish Stanford's 45-yard interception run moments later gave the Panthers a 14-7 lead with 4:32 remaining in the first quarter.

The Panthers never led again.

Chino (1-0) took control with two touchdowns in the closing two minutes of the second quarter, taking a 28-14 lead into halftime.  Browne extended the lead to 35-14 after a Panther turnover with a 9-yard touchdown run with 10:40 left in the third.

It was the second Diamond Ranch turnover that lead directly to a Chino touchdown.

But the Panthers never folded. They drew to within 35-21 after a Andrew Fischer 4-yard touchdown run with 2:15 left in the third and had several opportunities to draw closer throughout the second half.

"We came out strong in that second half," said Fischer, who had a well-rounded game with 72 rushing yards, 49 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

"The running game got going and we fought to the end."

Browne added the final touches on Chino's victory with a 5-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter. Fischer matched Browne with his own 2-yard touchdown run to complete Diamond Ranch's scoring.

Despite the setback, Layton took solace in his team's ability to fight back in the second half and hopes it will lead to better things in the future.

"I liked how we competed and I think we can learn from this," he said. "I always tell the kids that we can get better or get bitter about a loss. Our plan is to get better."

Up next for the Panthers is a Friday road contest against La Verne Damien.

BOX SCORE
First quarter
C - Xavier Browne 24 pass from Sean Molles (extra point good)
DR - William Bryan 39 run (Cameron Hunter kick)
DR - Parish Stanford 45 interception return (Hunter kick)
C - Willie Morris 19 pass from Molles (extra point good)
Second quarter
C - Alex Arellano 11 pass from Molles (extra point good)
C - Morris 18 pass from Molles (extra point good)
Third quarter
C - Browne 9 run (extra point good)
DR - Andrew Fischer 4 run (Hunter kick)
Fourth quarter
C - Browne 5 run (extra point blocked)
DR - Fischer 2 run (Hunter kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Diamond Ranch - William Bryan 14-68, Andrew Fischer 11-72, Brandon Cox 6-30, Nick Gibson 3-19, Xavier Beltran 2-10; Chino - Xavier Browne 31-175, Sean Molles 3-(minus 16), Alex Arellano 1-2.
PASSING: Diamond Ranch - Beltran 9-17-1-87, Isiah Ramirez 1-8-0-11; Chino - Molles 13-22-1-176.
RECEIVING: Diamond Ranch - Fischer 3-49, Cox 2-25, Kilan Pace 2-6, Julian Deguchy 1-11, Pablo Unzuta 1-4, Nick Nguyen 1-3; Chino - Arellano 5-52, Browne 4-40, Willie Morris 3-64, Tyler Pardon 1-20.