Manfro scored the first touchdown of his career, on a 49-yard catch, in UCLA’s upset win over then No. 16 Nebraska, 36-30, at the Rose Bowl.
He scored again in UCLA’s 37-6 win over Houston. He has two touchdowns in three games and is becoming quarterback Brett Hundley’s favorite target.
Manfro is UCLA’s leader in receiving through the first three games of the season. He has 14 catches for 164 yards. He was also averaging nearly nine yards per carry in the first three games. In all fairness, he carried the ball only three times for 26 yards, but scored on a 14-yard run in garbage time against Houston. Manfro added five punt returns for 55 yards for good measure.
After the win against Houston, UCLA coach Jim Mora Jr. was a little critical of the offense, which produced four touchdowns and 29 first downs, and praised the defense.
“I think we had 567 yards of total offense, and we had a heck of a game, but we don’t feel satisfied,” Mora said after the game against Houston. “I think that’s a good thing. I’m glad our team feels that way, because we realize what our potential is. Tonight we had too many penalties offensively and turned the ball over too many times. But on the flip side, our defense was outstanding, really, really outstanding.”
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The USC Trojans football team, ranked No. 2 in the nation at the time, lost to Stanford, 21-14.
The loss probably knocked USC out of the national championship and the BCS picture. The Trojans dropped to No. 13 after the loss to Stanford. It also marked the fourth time in a row USC quarterback Matt Barkley lost to the Cardinal.
Even though USC is fading from the national landscape, it does set up an interesting match-up against UCLA.
The Bruins play the Trojans at the Rose Bowl on Nov. 17.
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Another reborn football rivalry is developing in the Santa Clarita Valley. The Hart and Canyon football teams were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the CIF Southern Section Northern Division for the first four weeks of the season.
Hart started the season as the No. 1 team, but the Indians lost their opener to Tesoro.
Canyon took over the No. 1 spot and held it for the next two weeks with impressive wins over Clovis West and Knight from Lancaster.
The two teams are on a collision course to meet on Nov. 2 in a game that will most likely determine the Foothill League championship. It could also be a preview of the Northern Division championship game.
In a bit of role reversal though, Canyon is the team with the high-powered offense and Hart has the stingy defense.
Canyon is averaging 52.5 points per game in the first four games of the season. Hart surrendered only 13.3 points per games in its first three games.
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Canyon’s Drew Wolitarsky caught eight passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns in his team’s 56-49 loss to Quartz Hill.
He is in pursuit of the state records for receptions and receiving yards held by Steve Smith, a receiver for the St. Louis Rams. Smith played high school football at Woodland Hills Taft and caught 271 passes for 4,545 yards.
Wolitarsky has 226 catches for 4,333 yards in his high school career. He has caught 34 passes for 460 yards through four games in his senior season. He needs 46 more catches and 213 yards to break Smith’s records.
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There is nothing nice to write about the Dodgers right now. If they make the playoffs maybe they’ll be worth discussing.
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Tagliani, driving for the Barracuda Racing team owned by Valencia’s Bryan Herta, led the MAVTV 500 for 19 laps and was out front when his engine blew. He pulled into the pits with smoke coming out of the engine. He had to withdraw and surrender the lead to Ed Carpenter, who went on to win the race.
“Overall, I’m very pleased with the team and the way that everybody performed during the season,” Tagliani said. “It’s a hell of a job that the Barracuda Racing crew did. It’s a shame, because where we were heading at the finish would’ve probably put us in the top 10 in championship points, but it was an amazing comeback. I’m proud of the way that we finished the season, showing how strong we are. We had our share of bad luck and this was another one. But next year is going to be a totally different situation. Next year is going to be our year.”
After qualifying for the race, the Barracuda Racing team decided to make an engine switch. Tagliani qualified sixth, but dropped to 16th after changing engines – the penalty for making such a move. Putting in the new engine looked like the right move up until about lap 130.
The drama of the race extended past the Barracuda Racing pits. Ryan Hunter-Reay, driving for Andretti Autosport, won the IndyCar Series championship by finishing in fourth place in the race.
He needed to finish fifth or better to pass Will Power in the standings. Power crashed early in the race and made a valiant effort to return, but he had to eventually withdraw after completing only 66 laps.
That left Hunter-Reay with an opportunity to win the championship. When Tagliani dropped out, Hunter-Reay moved up the grid.
But it wasn’t until Takuma Sato crashed on the last lap that Hunter-Reay moved into the top five and clinched the series title.
“It was team effort right there,” Hunter-Reay said after the race. “We were struggling all weekend. I didn’t want to let anyone really know about it. We were really in the woods. This hasn’t sunk in yet. I just drove 500 miles for my life. I can’t believe we’re IndyCar champions. I can’t even believe this.”
Photo: Alex Tagliani pulls into the pits and surrenders the lead in the Izod IndyCar Series MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. (Credit: Tim Haddock)
Tim Haddock is the sports director at KHTS AM 1220. He writes for the Santa Clarita Gazette, Ventura County Star and the Team USA website. He can be reached by e-mail at tim@hometownstation.com. Follow him on Twitter @thaddock.
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