RANCHO PENASQUITOS -- Wesley Wallace, the leader of Mt. Carmel High's passing attack, barely had his number called Friday night.

He didn't mind one bit.

The junior quarterback was only asked to throw the ball three times as the Sundevils' ground attack exploded for 312 yards and Mt. Carmel rolled to a 42-21 victory over visiting Orange Glen.

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"That's what we do, we run the football," Sundevils coach Darren Spence said after the Valley League showdown. "We tried to throw a couple times, but our timing was off. But with the way our O-line played, we were able to keep running. This was nice for us."

The Sundevils (3-3, 1-1) didn't waste much time jumping ahead against the Patriots (1-5, 0-2).

Orange Glen, which entered the game having been outscored 56-0 in the first quarter, saw that trend continue as Mt. Carmel grabbed a 14-0 advantage in the opening 12 minutes.

Mike Nelson's 1-yard burst capped a nine-play, 60-yard drive for the Sundevils' first touchdown. A few minutes later, the run-happy Sundevils scored on a 3-yard rush by Kenny James, who electrified the home crowd with 152 of his team-high 164 yards before halftime.

Unfortunately for Orange Glen, the Sundevils' dominance didn't stop at the end of the first quarter as Mt. Carmel scored three more touchdowns before intermission. The scores were delivered on the ground by Shayne Khalil (3 yards), James (10 yards) and Dennis Bowman, who hauled in a 10-yard pass from Troy McClelland on a halfback-option pass.

The Sundevils' only touchdown after halftime came on a 44-yard streak by running back Miles Sharp, who finished with 92 yards on just three carries.

The second half was much better for Orange Glen, which finally got on track offensively. Senior running back Andrew Early toted the rock 30 times for 213 yards in the final 24 minutes. He finished with 41 carries for a game-high 246 yards, including two of the Patriots' three second-half touchdowns on runs of 14 and 2 yards.

That performance earned his opponents' respect as Early carried the ball on 71 percent of the Patriots' snaps.

"That No. 24 is one tough son of a gun," Spence said.

Early believes his team, which has lost five straight by an average of 26.2 points per game, can be more competitive if it gets on track earlier in games.

"We came out slow in the first half," Early said. "We have to pick it up. But our offensive line did a great job today in the second half. We just didn't come out like we wanted."

Despite the loss, Orange Glen coach Kris Plash praised his team for giving everything it had for 48 minutes.

"I'm very proud of our players," Plash said. "They come to practice and are willing to work hard every time, knowing that they've got tough odds. I'm just so proud that not one player has quit on this team."