Najee Harris leads Antioch to win in opener
Najee Harris was the main attraction Friday night, but the Antioch football team was the show.
Harris, an Alabama commit and the No. 1 recruit in the country, rushed for 173 yards and three touchdowns, caught a 35-yard scoring pass and grabbed an interception on defense — all in the first half. But, proving it was more than just Harris, the Panthers racked up 546 total yards and had five players score en route to a 67-38 season-opening win over Lincoln-Stockton.
Antioch (1-0), which opened the season No. 3 in The Chronicle’s rankings, built a 24-0 lead and never sweated. The 67 points were three shy of the school record, set in a 70-20 win over Dougherty Valley-San Ramon in 2012.
Harris finished with 219 yards rushing on just 10 carries and sat out the fourth quarter, which was played with a running clock.
Sophomore quarterback Willem Karnthong also got to take most of the fourth quarter off after an impressive varsity debut. He completed 10 of 15 passes for 169 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. He had the 35-yard scoring pass to Harris and connected with Isaiah Dunn on TD passes of 59 and 25 yards.
“Our quarterback was great tonight,” Antioch coach John Lucido said. “And Isaiah Dunn, too. Obviously, Najee. The offensive line did a really nice job. … But Willem, yeah, he just really stretches the field for us. He’s going to be a big weapon for us.”
Dunn finished with 84 yards receiving. Junior running back Dalaan Green carried 12 times for 85 yards and scored on a 57-yard run. Senior receiver Antoine Tanner caught three balls for 20 yards and also added a 39-yard touchdown run.
Antioch hasn’t lost a regular-season game since losing to Bay Valley Athletic League rival Pittsburg in November 2014.
No. 1 De La Salle-Concord 42, Amador Valley-Pleasanton 7:
Tre White returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, Kairee Robinson rushed for 134 yards and quarterback Abel Ordaz rushed for two touchdowns as the host Spartans (1-0) overcame sloppy play to beat the Dons (0-1) and extend their unbeaten streak against Northern California opposition to 272 games. Amador Valley trailed 21-7 at halftime in the coaching debut of former Dons quarterback Danny Jones.
Hillsdale 21, Riordan 12:
Quarterback Ben Frame went 12-for-18 for 222 yards and threw for three touchdowns in Hillsdale’s season-opening win over Riordan. Two touchdown passes were to Nate Shani, who hauled in five receptions for 99 yards. Hillsdale trailed 6-0 after the first play from scrimmage, a 69-yard touchdown pass from Xavier Caracter to Joshua Boone, but the Knights settled down from there. Caracter and Boone also hooked up for a 47-yard score.
No. 2 Clayton Valley-Concord 35, Reed-Sparks (Nevada) 20:
The Ugly Eagles made big plays, had some first-game hiccups and played gritty defense to defeat the visiting Raiders, winners of five straight Nevada regional large-school titles. Clayton Valley (1-0) leaned on its tried-and-true running game. Akeal Lalaind was the workhorse, rushing for 174 yards on 34 carries and two touchdowns, with a third on a 51-yard fade from Zia Rahmany for the game’s first score. A Tre Bussey 1-yard plunge cut Clayton’s lead to 21-14 with 11:08 left, but stout defense and Lalaind’s two rushing touchdowns sealed the win.
Central Catholic-Modesto 42, No. 13 Marin CatholicKentfield 16:
Jared Rice rushed for 264 yards and three TDs as the Raiders (1-0) outgained the visiting Wildcats (0-1) 418-198. Mack Roesner has a 10-yard scoring run for Marin Catholic.