LAWNDALE — On a night when the Samohi Vikings had more on their minds than just football, the points just kept on coming against Leuzinger as both teams opened their seasons on Friday night.
Playing the game in memory of the late Norm Lacy, the school’s popular athletic director who passed away in May, and in honor of Cody Williams, a player who suffered a severe spinal injury during last season’s opener, the Vikings routed host Leuzinger, 42-6.
Kris Comas, who led the charge by returning a pair of punts for touchdowns and catching another from quarterback Brock Miller, couldn’t help but feel the emotions following the game.
“I had a lot of people on my mind,” said Comas, who had “C-Dub” written on his eye black in a nod to Williams. “We did this for Cody and Lacy.”
The Vikings wasted little time putting up points. Samohi scored on the game’s first possession with junior running back Kori Garcia scoring on a 14-yard run to put the Vikings up, 7-0, early in the first quarter.
After forcing Leuzinger to punt away the next possession, Comas fielded the ball at his own 30 yard-line and scampered 70 yards for the score, giving Samohi a 14-0 edge.
Leuzinger would score on a long passing play to make it 14-6 with nearly two minutes to play in the first quarter, but Samohi’s Comas would again prove too much for the Olympians. Miller connected with the senior wide receiver for a 14-yard scoring pass putting the Vikings up 21-6 with five minutes to go in the half.
“This was his coming out party,” Samohi Head Coach Travis Clark said of Comas. “We knew he had this kind of talent.”
Comas was expected to be a playmaker on last season’s team, but a groin injury sidelined him for most of the year. Clark said that he saw improvement in the speedy wideout and expected him to contribute this season. Who would have know this is how he would show that potential.
Careful to spread the love, Comas gave credit to his blockers for creating lanes on his two long punt returns, the second of which came early in the fourth quarter to put Samohi ahead, 35-6.
While Comas made all the flashy plays, it was running back/defensive back Brandon Taylor who quietly helped Samohi to victory. He intercepted a pass from Leuzinger’s Laron Barnes deep in his own territory during the third quarter to end what looked like a promising Olympian scoring drive. He would cap the subsequent drive with a 28-yard scoring run that essential put the game out of reach at 28-6.
“Our line balled out today,” Taylor said. “We knew what we wanted and went out and took it.”
The Vikings’ next game is Thursday at Palisades High School.
