No slow start this time for Falcons

By: SCOTT BAIR - Staff Writer | Saturday, November 4, 2006 6:44 AM PST ∞

Westview High School's Byron Tauti gets stopped by the Torrey Pines High School defense during the fourth quarter at Wesview High School on Friday.
WALDO NILO Staff Photographer
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RANCHO PENASQUITOS ---- The Torrey Pines High football team is notorious for slow starts. The Falcons have a certain flair for the dramatic, using numerous comeback attempts to compensate for early miscues throughout the course of their unbeaten season.
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Friday night, however, there were no hiccups out of the gate. The top-ranked Falcons started with a bang and cruised to a 49-0 Palomar League win over host Westview.

"We've had some problems getting started," Torrey Pines coach Ed Burke said. "But that certainly wasn't the case tonight. We've stressed the importance of playing four complete quarters of football and they obviously took that to heart."

The Falcons (9-0, 4-0) couldn't have started any better. The defense forced a three-and-out, turned it over to the offense and let Robby Collins go to work.

He scored a 38-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage to give the Falcons a lead they would not relinquish.

"That set the tone for the entire game," Collins said. "I may have scored the touchdown, but it was a complete team effort in getting there. I received great blocking from the line, which pretty much escorted me right down the field."

The line must have been motivated to block for the ever-popular Collins, a shutdown cornerback who made his offensive debut against the Wolverines.

"It was great to see him in there," Burke said. "He had off-season knee surgery and we told him that he wasn't going to play offense until we were sure he was 100 percent. He's been chomping at the bit over the last few weeks, begging for a few carries. We gave him some tonight and he certainly took advantage of the opportunity."

Collins rushed six times for 123 yards and a touchdown, but also made quite an impact from the position he's been allowed to play all year. He made an interception at the end of the first half and also scored from 27 yards out after a fumble recovery.

Falcons fullback Pete Johnson, who transferred from Westviewduring the summer, had a solid outing in the return to his old school. He finished with nine carries for 60 yards and three touchdowns, the last of which sparked officials to start a running clock just moments into the second half.

Westview (0-9, 0-5) wasn't able to generate much offense against the Falcons, who recorded their first shutout of the season. Byron Tauti had 58 yards on 16 carries and quarterback Mike Hansen had 77 yards passing on six completions.

"There a good ---- no, they're a great football team," Westview coach Tim White said. "We were outmanned and outnumbered tonight. Torrey Pines brought their best and we just couldn't keep up. ...

"Believe me, nobody likes to lose. We're going to get back to work, prepare for Serra next week and try to end this season on a positive note."

Contact staff writer Scott Bair at (760) 739-6642 or sbair@nctimes.com.



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