City Section

Thursday, Nov. 18

CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION

First Round

Birmingham 29, Fremont 19
Andre Bouvay rushed for 149 yards and one touchdown in 22 carries and Jeremy Hazell made five catches for 99 yards, including touchdown receptions of 41 and 28 yards, for Fremont (8-3) in loss at Birmingham.

Crenshaw 28, Gardena 0
Darian Hagan had two interceptions to bring his total to 12 on the season and quarterback John Thompson completed nine of 17 passes for 195 yards including three touchdown passes of 26, 47 and 27 yards for the No. 5-seeded Cougars (9-2).

Tyquan Knox had five receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown, Gardner McKay had two catches for 73 yards, two toucdowns and an intercetpion and R.J. Garrett had 14 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown for Crenshaw.

Gardena finished at 6-5.

Dorsey 54, San Pedro 15
The top-seeded Dons (10-1) rushed for more than 300 yards as Jeremiah Johnson gained 173 yards and scored twice in nine carries and Stafon Johnson gained 118 yards and scored twice in eight carries.

Keith Charles completed six of 12 passes for 118 yards and touchdowns of 10 yards to Jeremiah Johnson and 25 yards to Sidney Avery. San Pedro finished at 6-5.

Narbonne 38, Chatsworth 21
The sixth-seeded Gauchos (9-2) advanced to the quarterfinals and a probable date at Carson Wednesday with the home victory.

Taft 40, Jefferson 7
Quarterback Josh Portis had a 75-yard touchdown run for host Taft (10-1). Wide reciever Austin Usher had 10 receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown for Jefferson (4-7).

Venice 21, Franklin 13
In the City Section, Venice was defined for years by its explosive offense and all the points and big plays culminated in the school’s first championship game appearance last season.

The Gondoliers have a new identity this season but it still results in victories.

Junior running back Ken Ashley rushed for 126 yards and scored all three touchdowns as Venice advanced in the City Championship Division playoffs with a 21-13 win over Los Angeles Franklin Thursday night at Venice.

Venice (9-2) will host Crenshaw in a quarterfinal-round game Wednesday night. It will be a rematch of the Gondoliers’ 53-0 playoff win last season.

Ashley provided the difference on offense as he gave the Gondoliers an early lead with a 54-yard punt return for a touchdown before adding scoring runs of six and one yard. His last touchdown opened up an eight-point lead late in the third quarter.

“It was a hard game,” Ashley said. “They’re a tough team. They’re well-coached and they played their hearts out tonight. It was 48 minutes of football.”

Said Venice Coach Angelo Gasca, “If we’ve got to grind it out, we’ll do it.”

Led by junior defensive linemen Martell Moore and Michael Munoz and senior All-City linebacker Jimmy Miller, the Gondoliers held Northern League co-champion Franklin (9-2) to five first downs and 163 total yards.

Brandon Torres, the Panthers’ 1,000-yard rusher, was held to only eight yards on his first five carries but his 76-yard run through the middle of the Venice defense cut the lead to 14-7 and gave Franklin momentum.

Torres scored the potential tying touchdown on a four-yard run but Allen Veliz missed the extra point.

“Franklin just wouldn’t go away,” Gasca said. “What really stopped their momentum probably was missing the extra point. That was huge. You could kind of see the wind go out of them.”

After Ashley scored to give Venice some breathing room, the Gondoliers would hold Franklin to two first downs and seven yards on its final three possessions. Torres finished with 108 yards on 15 carries.

“We knew it was going to be about field position and possession of the ball,” Franklin Coach Eric Jaimes said. “You’ve got to give it to them, they have great linebackers and a good defense.”

--Eric Stephens

Carson 42, San Fernando 33
Sylmar 49, Eagle Rock 7

INVITATIONAL DIVISION

First round

Belmont 28, Huntington Park 21 (OT)
Henry Curtis scored on a one-yard sweep on second down on Belmont’s first possession in overtime as the No. 16-seeded Sentinels (6-5) upended top-seeded Huntington Park (9-2), snapping the Spartans’ nine-game winning streak at Huntington Park.

Belmont quarterback Charles Crowell ran nine yards on first down to set up the game-winning play in the decisive series of the California tiebreaker, which the teams entered in a 21-21 deadlock. Irving Valencia kicked the point-after following Curtis’ touchdown run.

Crowell also ran for a 14-yard score and threw for touchdowns of 17 and 22 yards. The 22-yard scoring pass to Luis Soriano pulled the Sentinels into a 14-14 halftime tie after Huntington Park led early on.

Huntington Park took the back the lead at 21-14 with 10:18 to play on a two-yard run by backup quarterback Jonathan Ortiz, who finished with 78 yards in 10 carries after he replaced starter Daniel Saucedo when the latter took a hard hit and was temporarily knocked out of the game. Saucedo returned late in the fourth quarter.

L.A. Marshall 21, Grant 14
Quarterback Ritchie Samayoa ran 30 yards for a touchdown with 1:38 left to give Marshall its first playoff victory since 1992 in a City Invitational game.

One play earlier, on a fourth-and-18 from the Marshall 26, Samayoa kept the drive alive with a 44-yard pass completion to Colby Whitfield. Marshall trailed, 14-13, until Samayoa’s game-winning touchdown run.

Franco Stasilli had given Grant a 7-0 lead with a 73-yard touchdown reception from Steve Sierra. Marshall tied the score at 7-7 on James Wilson’s seven-yard run. Then Grant went up, 14-7, in the second quarter on Randy Molina’s one-yard run. Marshall closed to within 14-13 at the outset of the fourth quarter on Michael Bush’s 13-yard TD reception, but the extra point failed.

Everything turned around for Marshall when Jeremy Eckmans recovered a Grant fumble on the Marsahll 12-yard line with 7:53 remaining.

--Eric Sondheimer

L.A. University 13, Washington 12
Greg Walker scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 16-yard pass from Jason Robinson with 1:15 remaining in the fourth quarter, capping a 99-yard drive for L.A. University (6-5). Enous O’Neal rushed for 120 yards, indcluding a 12-yard touchdown for the host and No. 8-seeded Wildcats, who erased a 12-0 halftime defecit. No. 9-seeded Washington finished at 4-6-1.

Locke 34, Cleveland 21
Jevonte Taylor rushed for 257 yards and three touchdowns in 14 carries to lead Locke (6-5), which rushed for 395 yards, past host Cleveland (7-4). Taylor had touchdown runs of 80, 76 and six yards. Steven Brown added 114 yards and one touchdown in 11 carries for Locke.

Julius Killings led Cleveland with 160 yards and one touchdown in 22 carries and had a 32-yard touchdown reception from De’von Hall, who completed six of 11 passes for 124 yards with two interceptions.

North Hollywood 62, Westchester 53
Marlon Lucky rushed for 303 yards and seven touchdowns, and also added a touchdown receiving and three two-point conversions, as North Hollywood (8-3) outscored the visiting Comets (3-8). Lucky’s 54 points are a school single-game record.

South Gate 19, Granada Hills Kennedy 13
Daniel Kozasky scored on a one-yard run, senior defensive end Ben Viramontes had a 95-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown along with four sacks, to bring his total to a state-leading 31, and Marco Pulido had field goals of 39 and 40 yards for visiting South Gate (6-5), which led 13-0 at halftime. Kennedy finished at 3-8.

Fairfax 30, Verdugo Hills 7
L.A. Wilson 42, L.A. Jordan 24