Downey scores nine unanswered TDs on way to blowout of Gregori

There was a moment of shock in the Downey High stands when Gregori's Drew Daniels ran 39 yards for a touchdown just 21 seconds into the game.

But shock turned to admiration in a matter of moments, as the Knights rebounded from that early blow to rout the Jaguars 70-14 Thursday night in their Modesto Metro Conference opener.

How quick did Downey come back?

The Knights (4-1), No. 7 in The Bee's large-school rankings, tied the game 34 seconds later. It pushed the lead to 29-7 with 2:53 left in the first quarter.

Gregori (0-5) was focusing its defensive attention on Conner Purnell and Caleb Lowe, so junior Aaron Zwahlen began hitting Richard Lopez when Downey was in need of a big play.

The strategy worked, with Zwahlen connecting with the Knights' No. 3 receiver on touchdown passes of 40 and 9 yards on the first two possessions.

Between those scoring plays, Downey had picked up nine points without its offense taking the field.

Gregori snapped the ball over the punter's head and through the end zone to make it 9-7. Caleb Lowe then returned the free kick 65 yards for a 16-7 lead just 2:54 into the game.

By the time halftime arrived, with Downey up 50-7, most of the folks in the stands had forgotten their team had trailed by a touchdown to a team that had just 15 points in four games.

"We came out in a 3-2 (defense, with three linemen and two linebackers), and they got some big inside plays off that," linebacker Marcus Lacy said.

Downey went to a 3-3 in the second quarter, stacking three linebackers behind the three linemen. It clogged the middle, and the Gregori backs began running into piles of bodies.

The move was made easier because Gregori lacked a deep passing attack, with Pat Harrison using screens and pop passes to throw for his 59 yards. That allowed the linebackers to focus exclusively on stopping the run.

Despite the lopsided score, Downey came away from its conference-opening win with some defensive issues.

After giving up 50 points to Modesto Christian a week ago, and scoring 58 to eke out the win, Gregori knocked Downey's defense back early and often.

Gregori had 23 carries for 119 yards in the first half, and threw for 59. That's 178 yards in just one half of football — from a team that was averaging 148 yards a game.

"We've won four in a row, and it's given us confidence we'll take into next week," said Lacy, pointing out that the defense has allowed just 42 points in the four wins. "I think we're ready for what is going to come in league."

Life will get more difficult, and the competition more comparable, beginning with next Friday's game with Modesto (2-2). Downey plays contenders Johansen (2-2), Beyer (2-2) and Enochs (1-3) in a four-week stretch to end the regular season.

Downey dropped a 12-7 decision to Turlock (3-1) in its opener and has won four in a row, though its opponents are a combined 5-12 this fall.

Downey scored 246 points in that four-game span, and it has folks comparing this team to the 2009 model that featured Jason Lee — California's regular-season passing champ with 3,972 yards. He threw 35 TDs, but was plagued by 18 interceptions.

Zwahlen had a pedestrian night for him — 12 of 16, 210 yards, three TDs — but sat the second half. He's hitting 62 percent of his passes (95 of 154), for 1,580 yards and 17 TDs — with just three picks.

In fact, over the past three games, Zwahlen has thrown 15 TD passes with no interceptions.

Helping make it possible is tailback Juan Vaa-Ayala (129 yards, two TDs). He averages 106 yards a game.

"If we run the ball well, it forces the safety to come up and play tight," said Vaa-Ayala, who also provided some key blocks to keep Zwahlen on his feet in the pocket. "On a few of the balls down the middle, the opening was there because their safety came up expecting the run."

Both of Lopez's TDs were on balls down the middle, as Lopez (3 catches, 79 yards) got a step on his defender. Purnell (4 catches, 54 yards) and Lowe (5 catches, 90 yards) ranked sixth and seventh in the state in receiving yards, but could drop because of their limited opportunities in a lopsided game.