SAN DIEGO — Trailing 14-7 after a quarter, University City wasn’t going to be denied.
The Centurions exploded for six unanswered touchdowns, running away with a 48-20 victory over host La Jolla on Friday night Gene Edwards Stadium in the regular-season finale for both teams.
“They came out faster than us, but I knew if we kept the tempo going we’d be all right,” said UC running back Nakeem Smith, who finished the night with 85 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
“I knew we were better than them, we just had to show it.”
UC (9-1 overall, 3-1 Eastern League) grabbed the early lead when junior quarterback Quentyn DeMara was flushed from the pocket and found Tay Lockett open for a 45-yard touchdown with less than four minutes into the game.
The defense set up the score when Xavier Quintanar sacked Hudson Smith and forced a fumble. Tucker Wojkowski recovered it at the La Jolla 49.
The Vikings (6-4, 2-2) struck back, scoring on three straight possessions to grab a 21-7 lead, looking like they were going to take control of the game.
Senior running back Aidan McGill (27 carries, 202 yards, 2 TDs) went in from the 8 with 5:11 left in the first quarter to tie it at 7-7. Smith then hit Nicholas Bardaro for a 32-yard score to give La Jolla a 14-7 lead with 2:34 left in the quarter.
Smith made it 21-7 on the third play of the second quarter on a 5-yard keeper.
With a great mix of plays, the Centurions answered with 20 unanswered points to end the half with a 27-21 lead. Jones scored all three touchdowns on runs of 24, 12 and 1 yards.
“He’s a hard runner, tough to bring down,” UC coach Paul Lawrence said. “When he’s running like that, it opens up a whole lot of options for us on offense. We take what they give us.”
What it gave UC was opportunities for DeMara, who threw for 223 yards and four touchdowns. He iced the game with three second-half TDs — two to Dreyden Garner and another to Lockett.
“I knew I had to keep my guys in it and focused and we’d be all right,” said DeMara, who has thrown for over 2,000 yards on the season. “We’re more of a team this year; it’s a brotherhood.”
La Jolla was able to stop the UC scoring streak with McGills’ second TD, a six-yarder with no time left on the clock.
The Centurions lone loss of the season came Oct.18, when they fell to Scripps Ranch, costing them the league title and an unbeaten season.
“We did a great job in all three phases of the game tonight,” said Lawrence who was extremely elated after his team went 1-9 a year ago. “We stayed the course. The kids did a fantastic job this year.”
University City 48, La Jolla 27
University City 7 20 14 7 – 48
La Jolla 14 7 0 6 – 27
UC – Lockett 45 pass from DeMara (Lee kick)
LJ – McGill 2 run (Figueiredo kick)
LJ – Bardaro 32 pass from Smith (Figueiredo kick)
LJ – Smith 5 run (Figueiredo kick)
UC – Jones 24 run (Lee kick)
UC – Jones 12 run (Lee kick)
UC – Jones 1 run (kick failed)
UC – Lockett 11 pass from DeMara (Lee kick)
UC – Garner 27 pass from DeMara (Lee kick)
UC – Garner 13 pass from DeMara (Lee kick)
LJ – McGill 6 run (No attempt)