Prep football: La Center 12, Castle Rock 7

La Center 12, Castle Rock 7

Mike Polyakov rushed for two touchdowns and the La Center defense made a late stand as the Wildcats overcame turnover trouble for the victory.

Polyakov had 144 of La Center’s 277 rushing yards, while the Wildcats limited the Rockets to 133 yards of total offense. Polyakov opened scoring with a 37-yard run in the second quarter and ended it with a 40-yarder in the third.

“We turned the ball over three times, and that’s what slowed us down and that’s what kept them in the game,” La Center coach John Lambert said. “Out defense just played out of their minds. It was really exciting to see how well they played.”

Castle Rock returned one of those fumbles for its only touchdown. The Rockets reached the 12-yard line late in the game, but back-to-back plays for negative yardage led to Tyrone Kulla’s pass breakup on fourth down to seal victory for La Center.

Next up: La Center vs. Stevenson; Castle Rock at Ridgefield

La Center 0 6 6 0—12

Castle Rock 0 7 0 0— 7

Second quarter

LC — Mike Polyakov 37 run (pass failed)

CR — Austin Gehring 62 fumble return (Mikel Skreen kick)

Third quarter

LC — Polyakov 40 run (run failed)

Leaders

Rushing — La Center — Polyakov 18-144, Patrick Mayolo 14-51, Tyrone Kulla 9-38; Castle Rock — Ebb Brister 19-60, Cale Johnson 3-19, Levi Godinho 5-10.

Passing — La Center — Jake Johnson 4-7-0-48; Castle Rock — Cale Johnson 6-18-0-40.

Receiving — La Center — Patrick Mayolo 1-17, Austin Helbt 1-16, Alex Meza 1-15; Castle Rock — Gehring 2-35, Austin Moore 2-11, Austin Darvell 1-2, Brister 3-(minus 8).