With coach Calvin Bryant at the helm, the Compton football program has relied on its vaunted rushing attack to control the pace of games and throw opposing defenses off with their double wing offense.
But on Friday night, the Tarbabes showcased a new wrinkle as freshman quarterback Francis Madera threw three touchdowns and Compton cruised to a 57-6 win over Hub City rival Centennial.
“I feel like last week the only reason I was messing up was because I was nervous,” Madera said. “But today I felt like I got used to it already and I was able to play better.”
After both offenses struggled to get things going in the first quarter, a blocked punt gave Compton a short field and they capitalized after Tyree Sheppard broke free for a seven-yard touchdown run with 2:14 left in the first quarter.
Compton wasted no time in the second quarter after Sheppard scored his second touchdown to give his team a 14-0 lead.
“We have a few young guys so we’re just trying to work on our execution,” Bryant said. “We just try and get better week to week. Our guys showed it tonight and improved a little bit so hopefully we continue to carry it over to next week.”
Compton relied on its relentless defense to control the line of scrimmage and make things difficult for the Centennial offense.
Danzell Lloyd, Orlando Guzman combined for three early sacks for Compton, while Nate Willard and Alfonzo Garcia each came up with big interceptions in the game.
Suffocating defense allowed Compton to pull away in the second quarter thanks to some great field position.
Madera threw two of his three touchdown passes in the second quarter as Compton took a 30-0 lead at halftime.
Compton continued to put pressure on Centennial in the third quarter as they went 61 yards to score after Madera connected with Diontae Dill for a 5-yard touchdown for his third touchdown of the night.
Compton will be back in action next week when they host Paramount.
