Despite the brutal heat wave, it took Charter Oak’s football team a little over a quarter to warm up Friday night.

But once the Chargers got hot, they stayed hot and rolled to a 38-21 win over host Muir in nonleague action.

Charter Oak (3-0) turned up the heat on the Mustangs thanks to Marquis Bradley. The receiver, kick returner and defensive back scored three touchdowns, grabbed an interception and had two big kick returns, all in the first half.

“There are difference makers and there are game changers,” Charter Oak coach Dominic Farrar said. “(Bradley) is a game-changer. He’s just so tenacious with his competitive spirit. But it isn’t by accident. It’s by design because he’s worked hard on honing in on his craft. The kid is blessed and gifted. He’s also very talented because he works tirelessly and takes pride in his development.”

Bradley, a senior who is committed to UC Davis, set up his first touchdown after returning a punt 27 yards early in the second quarter. He was horse-collared which added 15 yards on a penalty that gave Charter Oak the ball at the Muir 43. The Chargers drove down to the Muir 3 and faced a fourth down.

Quarterback Corin Berry dropped back and threw to the left side of the end zone where Bradley caught the ball for a touchdown that gave Charter Oak a 10-7 lead, and they were off and running.

Bradley caught five passes for 71 yards, though he wasn’t Charter Oak’s leading receiver. That was Legend Lyons. He caught four passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. Berry connected with Lyons for a 13-yard touchdown toss to open the third quarter. That gave Charter Oak a commanding 31-14 lead.

Berry threw five touchdown passes. He completed 14 of 27 passes for 250 yards. He also threw two interceptions.

Muir (0-2) was led by Zion McDonald, who rushed for 72 yards on nine carries and added a touchdown.

— Donald Morrison

In other games Friday:

DAMIEN 37, ST. PAUL 10 >> Damien is the No. 1-ranked football team in the San Gabriel Valley and it left no doubt in its game against No. 2 St. Paul.

The Swordsmen could not contain Spartans quarterback Isaiah Arriaza. The junior burned them time after time on his way to completing 15 of 21 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns.

Receiver Gavin Lannon caught four passes for 113 yards and a touchdown.

St. Paul coach Mike Moschetti, a former quarterback himself, raved about Arriaza’s performance.

“I thought he was unbelievable. We couldn’t get pressure on him, and he just makes things happen,” Moschetti said. “We couldn’t give up big plays, but their skilled guys were really good, their offensive line played well and their quarterback ran around and made plays all night long.”

The loss for the Swordsmen (2-1) came a week after a 21-12 victory over Bishop Amat.

“They’re (St. Paul) a lot of work to prepare for, a nightmare if I’m being honest,” Damien coach James Stewart said. “But I thought the guys did a wonderful job. We just stayed focused and you saw it today. Especially with the adversity, they got that first score, but the guys didn’t panic. They stayed the course and we made the adjustments.”

Damien’s James Taylor rushed for 45 yards with two touchdowns.

— Fred Robledo

NOTRE DAME 36, ST. FRANCIS 34 >> After back-to-back blowout losses to open the season, the St. Francis football team was less than a minute away from securing its first win of the year.

On most nights, sophomore quarterback Shawn Sanders’ go-ahead touchdown pass with 55 seconds left in the fourth quarter would have been enough.

But on Friday night, the Golden Knights left too much time on the clock for Sherman Oaks Notre Dame kicker William Weisberg and quarterback Steele Pizzella.

The senior signal-caller marched Notre Dame (3-0) into field goal range, setting up Weisberg for a game-winning 39-yard field goal in a victory at James Bond Field.

Weisberg finished the game 3-for-3 on field goals.

St. Francis (0-3) led twice in the second half — 21-17 with 6:03 left in the third quarter and 34-33 with 55 seconds left in the game.

Senior quarterback John Sanders has been out since being injured in the second half of St. Francis’ season openr.

— Jorge Ramos

LA SERNA 14, WARREN 7 >> The Lancers won their second game in a defensive battle.

Grady Long took over at quarterback in the second half completing 2 of 5 passes for 11 yards. Elijah Blu Flores II ran for 72 yards on 11 carries. Emre Law and Kaimana Tufaga each had a sack on defense.

La Serna scored first, recovering a botched Warren snap on a fourth down punt attempt in the Bears’ end zone for a 6-0 lead early in the first quarter after a missed extra point.

La Serna scored again midway through the second quarter when Daniel Moreno ran around his left tackle on third down from the 6 for a 14-0 lead after a successful 2-point conversion.

Warren dropped to 0-3.

— Anthony Ciardelli

ST. GENEVIEVE 53, SOUTH HILLS 16 >> St. Genevieve running back Jaylin Burt led the Valiants with four touchdowns to hand South Hills a nonleague defeat at Covina District Field.

Burt, a senior, ran for two scores (1 and 60 yards) and caught two TD passes (32 and 38 yards). He totaled 135 yards on the night, with 65 yards rushing and 70 yards receiving.

St. Genevieve improved its record to 2-1, while the Huskies dropped to 1-2.

Valiants junior quarterback Michael Wynn was 17 of 20 for a game-high 227 yards and four touchdown passes and ran for two scores.

South Hills was led by running back Sebastian Morinaga, who had 95 yards rushing and scored a TD on a 51-yard run. Junior fullback Tyler Arguinzoni carried the ball 15 times for 82 yards.

— John Sherrard