Football: Harvard-Westlake stuns Alemany

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There was a packed crowd at North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake Saturday night, and they didn’t go home disappointed. The Wolverines (3-0) stunned Mission Hills Alemany, 24-20. Alemany (3-2) was ranked No. 1 in the Western Division and No. 24 by The Times.

Matt Calvert’s interception on the two-yard line with 35 seconds left preserved the victory. Harvard-Westlake got a career-best performance from senior receiver Jackson Liguori, who caught touchdown passes of 54 and 64 yards and finished with nine receptions for 186 yards.

Quarterback Max Heltzer passed for 323 yards and and three touchdowns. Brian Hentschel kicked a 49-yard field goal.

‘We played our butts off,’ Liguori said.

The Wolverines did a good job against Alemany’s Malcolm Marable after he ran 80 yards for a touchdown on the opening play. He finished with 154 yards rushing in 21 carries. Alemany quarterback Vernon Adams was intercepted three times, twice by Nicky Firestone. He passed for 292 yards and two touchdowns.

‘Our plan was to get No. 2 tired,’ Harvard-Westlake Coach Vic Eumont said of Marable.

So how good is Harvard-Westlake?

‘We’re just as good as before, except people didn’t know it,’ Liguori said.

-- Eric Sondheimer