BHHS Takes Out Santa Barbara in Season Opener

In its second season under head coach Donald Paysinger, the Beverly Hills High School football team finds itself being guided by several veterans on offense. That experience was on display in the Normans' season opener Friday, as senior quarterback Josh Newman and junior running back Frank Brown powered the team to victory.

Brown rushed for 116 yards on eight carries and two touchdowns, and the Normans' defense shut out the visiting Santa Barbara Dons in the second half, opening the 2010 season with a 29-7 victory. Newman completed seven of 14 passes for 145 yards and one touchdown. He added three carries for 16 yards and one touchdown.

"Overall, we did a great job," Paysinger said. "The only thing that stopped us was ourselves...too many penalties."

The Normans finished the game with 10 penalties for 127 yards. Paysinger attributed the offense's slow start Friday to first-game jitters.

Newman got the offense going with a 51-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Daniel Jack with 21 seconds left in the first quarter. Jack finished the game with three catches for 85 yards and one touchdown.

Beverly Hills (1-0) missed a scoring opportunity at 12:07 of the first quarter when the Dons sacked Newman on fourth and three at the Santa Barbara 3-yard line.

Sophomore quarterback Shawn Ramos got Santa Barbara (1-1) going with a two-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7, capping off an 11-play drive to start the second quarter. But that was the only highlight for the Dons as Ramos had a tough night, completing four of 13 passes for only 12 yards.

Bradford Jellison led the Dons offense with 42 yards rushing on 14 carries. Santa Barbara made only five first downs in the game.

"Tonight was a great lesson," Santa Barbara coach Jaime Melgoza said. "We have a lot of sophomores on this team. We are going to make mistakes, but let's learn from those mistakes. We need to become a more disciplined football team."

Beverly Hills took the lead for good when Newman scored on a 1-yard run with 6:24 left in the third quarter. Senior kicker Adam Lasman's extra point attempt was blocked.

Brown's first touchdown came on a 73-yard punt return with 4:14 left in the third quarter. Senior Greg Townsend Jr., the son of the former Oakland Raiders star, put Beverly Hills ahead 22-7 at 8:45 of the fourth quarter when he sacked Santa Barbara's Ramos for a safety.

Brown ended the scoring with his second touchdown, a 21-yard run with 6:44 left in the game.

"This is one of the most talented teams at this school in a long time," Paysinger said. "We are going to be very good."

The Normans play next at San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara on Thursday.