La Costa Canyon routs No. 2 Carlsbad behind play of running back Coby Herman

CARLSBAD — Stop No. 0. Make the La Costa Canyon High School offense one-dimensional.

That was the pregame focus of the Carlsbad defense.

The Lancers failed on both accounts as Coby Herman — No. 0 for LCC — ran for 182 yards and had 113 yards receiving as the No. 4-ranked Mavericks raced past No. 2 Carlsbad 50-22 in a key Avocado West League game before a packed stadium at Carlsbad.

The last time Carlsbad gave up 50 points in a game was in 2014, when the Lancers lost 53-37 to Ramona.

“We beat our rival, but we can play better,” said LCC coach Sean Sovacool. “This is such a great group, so much fun to coach. And how about Coby Herman?”

Herman had 16 carries for 182 yards with a pair of 3-yard touchdown runs and a 42-yarder. He had four carries of 10 or more yards and now has 1,265 yards rushing and 15 TDs. He also had four catches for 113 yards and a 52 yard score with a 30-yard catch and a 15-yarder.

“It’s amazing,” Herman said. “I have to give credit to my offensive line and coaches. We work hard. We’re never satisfied.”

LCC (8-1, 2-1) scored on the game’s opening drive, going 62 yards on six plays with Quinn Roth throwing 3 yards to Lennox Marcucci for the score.

The Mavericks took advantage of a Ford Mitchell interception, with Roth hitting Herman with a 52-yard scoring pass.

Santiago Singh-Kim stopped the next Carlsbad drive with an interception and LCC went 95 yards on eight plays with Herman scoring from 3 yards out on a drive in which he had a 40-yard run and 18- and 15-yard receptions.

After forcing a Carlsbad punt, LCC needed nine plays to go 67 yards with Herman scoring again from 3 yards out. He had a 32-yard run in the drive.

Carlsbad showed some life, using nine plays to go 80 yards with Eli MacNeal connecting on a 21-yards scoring pass for Ethan Meyerhoff.

LCC wasn’t done, however, when Ryan Scully scored from 44 yards out o a fake punt with 33 seconds to play in the half to make it 36-8 LCC at the break.

It was a play that broke Carlsbad’s back.

“That was an audible, my call,” Scully said. “I saw an opening and made the call. I’m a defensive guy and it was my first touchdown ever. We have a saying that it’s better to do it then regret it. So I decided to go for it.”

Carlsbad (8-1, 2-1) started the second half with a 45-yard TD pass from MacNeal to Travis Jeffery, but it was all LCC after that. Herman, who left the game for two plays with cramps, scored on a 43-yard run, sweeping to the right end and scoring untouched, The final LCC score came on a 40-yard interception return by Ethan Polloreno.

“Going into the half, it was still pedal to the metal,” Herman said. “Never be satisfied, never stop.”

LCC rushed just 18 times for 215 yards.

Roth was 15 of 27 for 256 yards. Jackson Maggiore had six catches for 77 yards while Marcucci had four for 51.

Kai Brown led Carlsbad with 16 carries for 124 yards.

MacNeal threw for 133 yards, but was intercepted three times. Those were his first interceptions in 127 throws.

La Costa Canyon 50, Carlsbad 22

La Costa Canyon 14 22 7 7 – 50

Carlsbad 0 8 7 7 – 22

LCC -Marcucci 3 pass from Roth (kick failed)

LCC – Herman 52 pass from Roth (Maggiore pass from Roth)

LCC – Herman 3 run (Stringfellow run)

LCC – Herman 3 run (Stringfellow kick)

C – Meyerhoff 21 pass from MacNeal (Webb run)

LCC – Scully 44 run Stringfellow kick)

C – Jeffery 45 pass from MacNeal (Filippini kick)

LCC – Herman 42 run (Stringfellow kick)

LCC – Polloreno 40 interception return (Filippini kick)

C – Wall 6 run (Filippini kick)