Marty Washington

Perhaps Antelope Valley College could have engineered a last-minute drive for the winning field goal. But as it was, good fortune intervened on the Marauders' behalf in a 21-14 victory over host San Bernardino Valley in a Foothill Conference game Saturday night. With 1 minute 27 seconds left and the score tied, 14-14, a bad snap on a San Bernardino punt from the 30-yard line gave the Marauders a first and goal just inside the Indian 10-yard line.

The highly anticipated landing of the space shuttle Discovery at nearby Edwards Air Force Base rocked the small desert community of Quartz Hill earlier this week. But it was the Hart High football team that made all of the noise Friday night. That and the sound of officials' whistles. The Indians survived 4 pass-interference calls and 100 yards in penalties to defeat Quartz Hill, 29-13, in a nonleague game.

The St. Genevieve High football team was cruising through its first drive, gobbling up yardage like a runaway Pac-Man. First play, 11-yard run. Second play, four-yard run. Third play, 11 more yards on the ground. "And we haven't even thrown a pass yet," one enthusiastic St. Genevieve player exclaimed. If only St. Genevieve had passed on passing. Once the Valiants went to the air, no amount of quarters--or quarterbacks--could reignite their offense.

So much for the theory that Antelope Valley College football Coach Brent Carder is conservative and predictable when it comes to offense. If that were always the case, Carder never would have allowed an injured Marty Washington to throw the game-winning 15-yard touchdown pass in the Marauders' 27-20 come-from-behind victory over visiting Valley in a nonconference game Saturday night. He would have opted for a field goal instead.

Antelope Valley College will play host to L.A. Southwest in the Southern California Bowl game at 12:30 p.m. today at Antelope Valley. The Marauders (8-2) finished second in the Foothill Conference, and Southwest (7-2-1) tied Pierce for the runner-up position in the Western State Conference South Division. The Cougars' success stems from a solid offense featuring some big-play performers and a defense keyed by a line that yields yardage grudgingly.

It was a calculated gamble by a man who does not often gamble. And it backfired on Coach Brent Carder and Antelope Valley College in a 15-12 Foothill Conference loss to host Desert on Saturday night. The defeat was the first of the season for Antelope Valley (7-1, 5-1 in conference play) and marked the sixth game in a row that the Marauders's have failed to beat the Roadrunners.

Ask any player on the Antelope Valley College football team about it and he will give the same answer: Coach Brent Carder is still running a conservative, take-no-big-chances, make-no-mistakes offense. The execution has improved recently, though, and so have the numbers. "We're still running the same basic plays," Antelope Valley tailback Steve Miller said. "It's just that now, our offense is coming together. The offensive line really did a great job tonight."

Turnovers, bad bounces and even Mother Nature played a hand in Antelope Valley College's downfall in Saturday's Southern California Bowl game. As a result, the Marauders were bowled over by visiting L.A. Southwest, 28-0, in a contest that few figured would be so lopsided. Antelope Valley (8-3) committed five turnovers, four on interceptions thrown by sophomore Marty Washington.

Hart High had surely heard about Quartz Hill's defense. In four games, the Rebels had given up just 12 points in four victories. But Quartz Hill had never seen the likes of Hart quarterback Darren Renfro. Renfro, the Valley area's leading passer going into Friday night's game at College of the Canyons, threw for 260 yards, completing 21 of 30 passes, as Hart defeated Quartz Hill, 20-12.

The arm of quarterback Marty Washington brought Antelope Valley College within three yards of a conference football title Saturday. But with a slip of the foot at the most crucial moment, Washington's final pass--and the Marauders' quest for a championship--wound up incomplete as Citrus College escaped with a dramatic 27-26 Foothill Conference victory at Antelope Valley.