Leigh could not build on the momentum of last week's victory against rival Branham and fell to Westmont 46-22 on Friday night.
Both teams are now 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the Blossom Valley Athletic League-Santa Teresa standings.
The Longhorns trailed in the first half, but moved to within 18-15 on an 84-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Sean Cosentino. But Westmont couldn't be stopped on this night, scoring twice more before the end of the half, including a 48-yard scoring toss from quarterback Trevor Flint to Keanu Phillips with a minute left before the break.
“We won the trenches and that's where you win the ball game and that's what we did tonight,” Westmont coach Eric Buran said. “We were the more physical team, and our power showed.”
In the third quarter, Westmont fumbled, and Leigh offensive lineman Elijah Mosley recovered the ball, setting Leigh up for its final score of the game, a 5-yard touchdown run by running back Lavon Donald.
Westmont began to run away with the game later in the second half with an intercetpion by Andrei Simpson, setting up a 1-yard scoring run by Zac Lytle.
“Mostly it's just run plays that led us to victory, just driving the ball down with Tommy Ly and Mark Derobertis,” Westmont defensive lineman Trevor Patton said.
Leigh stepped up its defensive game with several deflections and/or rejected passes by back Nick Mora, lineman Nick Rubio and linebacker Dalton Nold.
However, the Warriors defensive line was superb, led by Patton, Jared Lynch and Trevor McWilliams.
Meantime, running backs Ly and Derobertis excelled on offense, with some nifty footwork.
Ly was most impressed with the Warriors' stopper unit, though.
“Our defense was just fantastic. I think we did a very good job stopping the runs. That's what Leigh's known for—running the ball,” Ly said.
Heading into Week 10, Westmont is at Mt. Pleasant (1-7) on Friday at 7 p.m., while Leigh is at Silver Creek (3-5) at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
