Carson football routs Granada Hills behind Jerry Misaalefua’s 4 TDs in City Open quarterfinals
CARSON — Jerry Misaalefua had one of those nights in Thursday’s quarterfinal round of the L.A. City Section Open Division playoffs.
It was a performance that didn’t surprise his teammates, coaching staff or coach Mike Christensen.
“He plays the whole game, he does not really come off of the field,” Christensen said. “He plays at such a high level and he’s so tough, he’s physical, smart, he’s a leader …I can’t imagine a better football player.”
Misaalefua had all of his work and attributes on display against fifth-seeded Granada Hills Charter.
He rushed for 224 yards and three touchdowns, he even played quarterback, completing all three of his pass attempts for 60 yards, controlled the field at middle linebacker and capped the night with a strip fumble and 98-yard return for a touchdown in the 34-12 win for the fourth-seeded Colts (10-1).
Carson will visit top-seeded Birmingham in next Friday’s semifinals.
“I think I played pretty good,” Misaalefua said. “It all started with the O-Line, they played a hell of a job tonight. Our coaches put a scheme in that helped us out a lot and I think we did our part.”
Part of that scheme called for Misaalefua to take snaps at quarterback. For the first time this season.
“I never played quarterback until this week,” he said with a laugh. “I was pretty comfortable. Coach C (Christensen) put in a lot of plays that made me feel like I could do it. With the trust they had in, I just played with my all tonight.”
On the opening possession of the game, Misaalefua led the drive from near midfield with a direct snap run for 24 yards, a flip pass to Latrell Cannon for 26 and three plays later Kameryn Hurst scored from the 1-yard line for a 7-0 lead.
The Colts got back in the end zone to start the second quarter on Misaalefua’s 14-yard run for a 14-0 lead.
Granada Hills Charter (7-3-1) didn’t take much time to get back in the game. On the Highlanders first play of the second quarter, Darrell Stanley took the snap and raced 89 yards for a touchdown. The two-point conversion was missed, leaving the Colts with a 14-6 lead heading into halftime.
Misaalefua helped the Colts put the game away with two more rushing touchdowns, a 7-yard run in the third quarter and 9-yard score in the fourth for a 27-6 lead.
On the defensive side, the Highlanders, known for their rushing attack, only had the long run by Stanley against the Colts.
“We had to hold our own,” Misaalefua said. “They’re a great team, their run game is amazing, but we stuck to our gameplan, didn’t get too far upfield, play our gaps and just play team defense. Our main thing this week on defense was be selfless and don’t be selfish, rely on your teammate to make the plays.”
That effort was on display in the fourth quarter. After a long pass completion from Pharrell Stanley to Darrell Stanley, Hurst chased down the play, making the stop at the 1-yard line. On the second play, Misaalefua came up with the strip and took off down field for the 98-yard touchdown return to cap his night.
“They want to keep playing,” Christensen said of his team. “Those intangibles and their desire are great because we’ve been preaching since Day 1, don’t give up on a play, so that was a good example of not giving up on a play. It wasn’t going to change the outcome of the game, but this is a special group. They’re a really good group and they’ve been fun to coach.”
The Highlanders won last year’s Division I City Section title and finished second in the West Valley League this season.