CONFIDENCE HIGH AFTER GRANADA WIN : GRANADA HILLS 56 JEFFERSON 14.

Byline: Gerry Gittelson Daily News Staff Writer

This is exactly the way Granada Hills High wanted to start the football playoffs.

Sparked by quarterback Jason Winn and receiver Peter Gunny, the top-seeded Highlanders outclassed Jefferson 56-14 in first-round City Championship playoff action on Thursday at Granada Hills.

Winn completed 13 of 21 passes for 311 yards and a school-record six touchdown passes. Gunny had five receptions for 129 yards, including touchdowns of 8, 61, and 39 yards.

``This win just gives us a lot of confidence because we know the games are going to get tougher,'' said Winn, whose 238 yards and four touchdowns in the first half carried Granada Hills (11-0) to an early 41-0 lead.

Jefferson's blitzing defense backfired because the Democrats (7-4) left Gunny single-covered, and their line did not get enough push.

``Their blitzing is why Peter was so open,'' Winn said.

Granada Hills scored three touchdowns in a five-minute span midway through the first half.

``Coming in we thought Jefferson was a hard test, so we did a good job,'' said Gunny, who extended to 11 games his streak of three catches or more. ``Our plan is to keep playing our best game every week.''

Tommy Garagliano (14-yard reception), Jon Humphrey (13-yard run), Omari Mack (12-yard run), Josh Brandon (18-yard reception) and Jorge Cruz (8-yard reception) scored for Granada Hills.

Female kicker Michelle Vega notched two PATs. Mack had 124 yards in 11 carries.

Jefferson's Bayon Harris ran for 162 yards and two touchdowns in 24 carries, but Granada Hills otherwise yielded 86 yards. Freshman quarterback John Brown completed 6 of 13 for 36 yards and one interception. He ran for 43 yards on 13 carries.

``We're young. We're babies,'' said Jefferson coach Hank Johnson. ``We tried to put pressure on, but the NFL gets paid and this happens to them, too. Granada is just a very good team and a very good program.''

No Granada Hills team has ever won 11 straight.

``But we're not overconfident,'' said lineman Jory Goldberg. ``We come through because we play hard every down. The playoffs are the best of the best, and as we keep going we're going to play harder.''

Winn has 2,337 yards and 24 touchdown passes. Gunny has 52 catches for 927 yards (17.9 avg.) and 13 touchdowns. The two are a big reason why the Highlanders have turned things around so decisively after totaling three wins over the last three years.

``Every game we keep winning, it's like a dream come true,'' Winn said. ``Who would have thought?''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1) Granada Hills' Omari Mack scores on a 12-yard run Thursday evening against Jefferson.

(2) Granada Hills was sparked by quarterback Jason Winn's performance Thursday in its convincing win over Jefferson.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Special to the Daily News