By STEPHEN ACOSTA, Contributing Writer Amon Milliner had been held well under his 200-yard rushing mark for the last two weeks. He had averaged 215 yards and 2 touchdowns per game over the first six games. Milliner was back to his usual self, with a season-best 342 yards and 4 TD runs, as the Lancers […]
By STEPHEN ACOSTA, Contributing Writer
Amon Milliner had been held well under his 200-yard rushing mark for the last two weeks.
He had averaged 215 yards and 2 touchdowns per game over the first six games.
Milliner was back to his usual self, with a season-best 342 yards and 4 TD runs, as the Lancers won a 55-28, Angelus League contest over visiting Harvard-Westlake.
Eight days ago, La Salle had an 0-12 mark in its Angelus League history, and now they’ve won two consecutive, and did it on senior night.
“We got our thunder and lightning (Milliner and Akobian) back,” La Salle coach Russell Gordon said. “We’ve been battling the last two years to build this program strong, and I’m just happy for everybody, including our 22 seniors.”
On their night, the seniors led the way, and dominated what could be their last time at Kohorst Field.
The Lancers (6-3, 2-2) were carried by senior running backs Amon Milliner and AJ Akobian, who ran for a combined 476 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Milliner recorded his first score of the night with 2:07 remaining in the first quarter.
He broke several tackles and out-ran the Wolverines defense for a 79-yard run, his longest of the night.
“ I feel good that we came out here and got a win,” said Milliner. “I’m just glad I was able to come out here and play well for my team.”
Milliner finished with 342 yards rushing on 33 carries, and found the end zone four times.
Akobian played in his first game fully recovered from an injury he suffered earlier in the season, and carried the ball 19 times for 134 yards with three touchdowns.
“I couldn’t wait to come back and help Amon out,” said Akobian. “Tonight was a great way to finish our last regular season game here at home, but we are excited for the playoffs.”
La Salle set the tone early with a six-minute drive, and was capped by Akobian’s 1-yard score.
The only score for Harvard Westlake (3-6, 0-4) in the first half came off a recovered Milliner fumble, picked up by Cameron Jones for an 8-yard scoop-and-score with 9:06 left in the second quarter.
In the second half, Harvard Westlake made a late surge, trailing 35-28 after recovering an onside kick, and scoring on a Jameson Wang 4 yard quarterback keeper early in the fourth quarter.
The Lancers defense played a big role by making several key defensive stops on third and fourth down.
Harrison MacDonald recorded a big sack on third-and-long, forcing a punt, and later intercepted Wang for a 16-yard pick-six, late in the fourth quarter and putting the game out of reach, 55-28.
“La Salle is a good football team and Russell (Gordon) and his staff did a good job,” said Harvard-Westlake coach Scot Ruggles. “They played real well tonight and we were in a position to win late in the game but we just couldn’t get it done in the end.”
Box Score:
Harvard Westlake: 0-7-7-14 (28)
La Salle: 14-14-7-20 (55)
Scoring:
LS: AJ Akobian 1 run at 5:50 1Q (Johnny Clarizio kick)
LS: Amon Milliner 79 run at 2:07 1Q (Clarizio kick)
HW: Cameron Jones 8-yard fumble recovery at 9:06 2Q (Josh Lyons kick)
LS: Akobian 2 run at 6:19 2Q (Clarizio kick)
LS: Milliner 34 run at 4:50 2Q (Clarizio kick)
HW: Thomas Glover 2 run at 6:48 3Q (Lyons kick)
LS: Milliner 51 run at 1:57 3Q (Clarizio kick)
HW: Zac Harleston 9 pass from Jameson Wang at 10:37 4Q (Lyons kick)
HW: Wang 4 run at 10:11 4Q (Lyons kick)
LS: Akobian 28 run at 6:17 4Q (kick no good)
LS: Milliner 1 run at 1:15 4Q (Erin Flores 3 pass from Jake Caan 2 point successful)
LS: Harrison MacDonald 16 yard interception return (kick no good)
Offensive Leaders:
Passing: Jameson Wang (HW) 7 of 18 for 126 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs; Jake Caan (LS) 3 of 4 for 18 yards, 1 INT
Rushing: Amon Milliner (LS) 33 for 342 yards, 4 TDs, 1 FUM; Aj Akobian (LS) 19 for 134 yards, 3 TDs; Thomas Glover (HW) 21 for 102 yards, 1 TD; Cameron Jones (HW) 15 for 67 yards; Jameson Wang (HW) 6 for 20 yards, 1 TD
Receiving: Cameron Jones (HW) 4 catches for 82 yards; Zac Harleston (HW) 2 catches for 39 yards, 1 TD; Sammy Martinez (LS) 1 reception for 11 yards
Friday’s Angelus League Scores:
Cathedral 24, St. Francis 17
La Salle 55, Harvard-Westlake 28
St. Paul 42, Salesian 35
Angelus League Standings:
Cathedral (9-0 overall, 4-0 in league)
St. Francis (8-1, 3-1)
La Salle (6-3, 2-2)
St. Paul (4-5, 2-2)
Salesian (5-4, 1-3)
Harvard-Westlake (3-6, 0-4)
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