Emry Gains 143 Yards in Esperanza Victory

PLACENTIA — Garrick Emry rushed for 143 yards in 18 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns to lead Esperanza High School to a 36-21 victory over Long Beach Jordan Friday in a nonleague football game at Valencia High.

Emry turned a fourth-down play into an important touchdown in the third quarter for Esperanza (4-0).

Leading, 22-14, with 9:30 left in the third quarter, the Aztecs faced a fourth-and-two at the Jordan 43. Emry, a junior fullback, took the handoff into the middle of the line looking for first-down yardage, but broke free for a 43-yard touchdown run.

Esperanza added to its lead with the help of a long pass. Quarterback Keith McDonald completed a 42-yard pass to running back Jarod Smith for a first down at the Jordan eight. Three plays later, Mark Parlin scored on a one-yard run. Clay King then kicked the extra point, his fourth, to give Esperanza a 36-14 lead with 4:05 left in the third quarter.

Jordan (1-3) had taken a 7-0 lead early in the game, but Esperanza rallied to tie with the help of a 15-yard scoring pass from McDonald to Reid Pullen with 1:41 left in the first quarter.

Esperanza, the fourth-ranked team in Orange County, took the lead for good with 19 seconds left in the period on Emry’s 24-yard touchdown run. He then ran in the two-point conversion to give Esperanza a 15-7 lead.

On the play before the touchdown, Jordan was called for too many men on the field and the penalty gave Esperanza a first down on the Jordan 24.

Smith broke free for a 68-yard touchdown run with 6:05 left in the half to give Esperanza a 22-7 lead.

Jordan cut the lead to 22-14 on a 39-yard scoring pass from Johnny Nansen to Joel Rosborough with 10 seconds left in the first half.

Jordan’s final score came when Jerome Henderson took a punt and ran it back 88 yards for a touchdown with 1:46 left to play.

Esperanza recovered the following on-sides kick and ran out the clock.