Rams roll to fourth straight victory
| Saturday, Oct 31 2009 12:02 AM
Last Updated Saturday, Oct 31 2009 12:02 AM
Just when you thought the Garces offense couldn't get any better.
On the heels of a 562-yard performance against East last week, the Rams piled up 716 yards in offense Friday night, including 624 yards rushing, in a 56-42 non-league victory over West at Sam Tobias Field.
Jalen Sykes eclipsed 250 yards for the second straight week, finishing with 268 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. He also had a 65-yard kickoff return to set up an important third-quarter touchdown.
The Rams (5-3) have now won four of their last five since a 20-0 loss to perochial school-rival Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial in Week 3. They have scored more than 40 points in all of their victories this season.
Garces scored on its first five possessions and led 35-7 when Rams quarterback Phillip Anspach connected with tight end Joe Bell for a 27-yard scoring play with 9:35 left in the first half.
Zack Puente had runs of 65, 49 and 33 yards in the first half and finished with 177 yards and a TD on 10 carries for Garces.
But West (4-4) rallied behind quarterback Franklin Simmons and eventually pulled within 42-35 when Chris Vasquez scored on a 6-yard run with 2:25 left in the third quarter. Vasquez zig-zagged across the field for a 65-yard gain off a short pass from Simmons to set up the scoring play.
Sykes followed with his long kickoff return, and four plays later Grant Campbell scored the third of his four touchdowns on a 3-yard run.
Campbell later capped Garces' coring with a 9-yard TD run to give his team a 56-35 lead with 7:24 to play. Campbell tallied 136 yards on 22 carries.
Simmons led West, scoring on runs of 49, 15 and three yards, but threw two critical interceptions on consecutive possessions to hurt the Vikings chances. He finished with 121 yards rushing and also was 7-for-17 passing for 171 yards.
