On the first play of the game, Westchester quarterback Aristol Melchor threw a pass to receiver Tyree Cade in the flat. Cade then threw the ball to Josh Smith for a 33-yard gain.

The Comets fumbled the ball away on the next play.

On their first play on defense, the Comets stopped South Gate for a 1-yard loss and, on the second play, forced a fumble.

After that, the young Westchester squad surrendered 41 points in a 41-0 nonleague loss to start the season.

Very little went right for Westchester as it went into halftime down 35-0. “We had no momentum. After the turnover, it was gone,” Westchester coach Seka Edwards said. “That play should have been a touchdown.”

Edwards said he knew Westchester, featuring several starters with little playing experience, was going to struggle. He told the team after the game that there are still nine games left to play and the team can’t act like the season is already over.

“You hope the inexperience goes away,”Edwards said. “Some plays we missed today, we hope we can make down the line.”

South Gate quarterback Andrew Toro completed 14 of 19 passes for 189 yards. He also scored the first touchdown of the game on a 1-yard keeper.

And South Gate running back Lavell Thompson proved too tough to stop as he rushed for 91 yards and three touchdowns on nine carries. He also caught five passes for 96 yards. The South Gate offense racked up 423 yards.

“When you play a lot of players with no experience, you expect a lot of mistakes,” Edwards said. “We just made too many tonight.”

Edwards pulled Melchor as quarterback after an interception in the second quarter, but sophomore Aaron Greenfield could do little to move the chains. Melchor finished with 11 yards passing after completing 2 of 5 attempts. He was also the leading rusher with 22 yards on four carries.

Greenfield, who had a 53-yard pass to Cemaj Douglas in the third quarter, was 5 of 14 for 96 yards and an interception. He was also sacked four times.

Smith finished with a team-high five catches for 67 yards.