Bad blood among brothers

There hasn't been so much bad blood between Christian brothers since the Baptists accused the Pentecostals of being of the devil about 100 years ago.

The last time Lighthouse Christian Academy beat their perennial archrivals Hillcrest Christian in 8-man football was 2014.

That year, Ricky Rand cheekily snatched the ball out of the cocked arm of the quarterback, who was ready to throw, and ran for a touchdown. That snarky steal typified a game of gleeful humiliation.

Hillcrest never forgave Lighthouse and each year since then has exacted new revenge. Both teams are called "the Saints" but appear to think each other "the Satanists."

On Saturday, Lighthouse lost 25-56, and at the final whistle Hillcrest ran into its corner and gloated and howled while Lighthouse glowered and hurled insults. Coaches stood midfield to make sure words didn't come to blows.

"Let's go! Let's play one more game right now!" Hosea Ashcraft yelled across the field.

They weren't just hollow words.

Lighthouse tends to compensate its inexperience and lack of execution with pure stamina and hard hits that bring results in the third and fourth quarter. They wear teams down. Even if they don't win, they send opponents home with some real stingers -- and a measure of respect.

In what amounted to the last significant play of the game, Josie Bowen rocked Hillcrest quarterback from his blind side, foiling a conversion attempt.

Hosea hit a kid so hard that he knocked the ball free late in the third quarter for a turnover that the blood-sniffing Saints thought marked their turnaround point.

The crash and kill strategy wore down mighty Milken Community School on Sept 20 and earned the praise of opposing coach of Downy Calvary Chapel Christian School on Sept. 8. He called tiny Lighthouse, with enrollment 45, to the military last stand of the 300.

Perhaps, Lighthouse didn't start early enough Saturday with the hard hits. Perhaps, it was looking for big plays instead of waiting and biding its time, slowly grinding down its opponents' will to fight.

In the first quarter, senior Marcus Scribner found a hole in the defense and burned Hillcrest for a massive touchdown run, making it 6-12.

In the second quarter, Hillcrest pulled away from Lighthouse 6-34, but Hosea hit a player so hard he looked dazed "in another time zone," a Lighthouse coach said.

But the half finished with a Lighthouse touchdown. Marcus made a noodle-y run on kickoff return to narrow the gap 12-34.

At the break, LCA Quarterback Pat Cannon was optimistic: "We have the momentum."

Coach Josh Scribner agreed: "We have them where we want them. They think they're dominating us. Pride comes before a fall."

But Hillcrest, with speed and finesse, still outmaneuvered the Lighthouse and scored two plays after kickoff return.

Lighthouse responded with a surprise QB run for a touchdown, bringing the score to 18-42.

The Santa Monica Saints stuck to a running game. They would grind out five yards regularly and leverage the wear and tear on their opponents.

On a kickoff return, Josie Bowen crashed through unstoppable and very nearly scored a touchdown. His efforts were seconded by a run from Hosea, who was stopped only by six guys total. Hosea's subsequent touchdown (with a field goal) made it 25-50.

Late in the third quarter, a Hosea hit resulted in a fumble and a Lighthouse recovery. But the drive that lasted into the fourth quarter when the receiver didn't make the endzone catch on fourth down.

It was a bloodbath. There was no "turning the other cheek." Just good, hard-fought football.

So far, Hillcrest with superior resources has maintained the upper hand, to the mounting frustration of the Lighthouse.

Not all "brotherhood" was bad on Saturday. Senior Marcus and his little brother, Rob Scribner, a freshman saw any sibling rivalry totally disappear when the Rob made a key block (pictured) to aid his older brother on a scintillating run.

"I'll do his chores for him," Marcus said afterward.

So there was some brotherly love on the football field.

"Ultimately, it just comes down to the fact that we don't have enough guys," said Head Coach Zach Scribner. "We don't have enough big enough guys to push them. You guys played your hearts out. You played good in the second half. We took the ball from them. You should be proud of that."

Here are prior articles:

• Against Teach Tech.
• Against Downey Calvary Chapel
• Against Beacon Hill Classical Academy.

• Against Milken Community School.
• Against Meadows School.