Sports Notebook: Locals battle in tight NFL game

The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene.

LATE GAFFE HELPS EAGLES BEAT GIANTS

There were a few local story lines involving Sunday night’s contest between the New York Giants and host Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The contest provided its share of drama, all the way to the game’s final minute, when New York place kicker Lawrence Tynes missed a 54-yard field goal attempt with 15 seconds left.

For Philadelphia Coach Andy Reid, a former Glendale Community College football player, his team improved to 3-1 with a 19-17 victory. The Giants dropped to 2-2 after seemingly being in good position to pull out a victory. That changed when New York wide receiver Ramses Barden, a former Flintridge Prep and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo standout, was called for offensive pass interference on a first-and-10 situation at the Philadelphia 27-yard line.

On second-and-nine from the Philadelphia 26, New York quarterback Eli Manning lofted a pass down the right sideline to Barden, who was being covered on the right sideline. Barden went up with cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha for the ball inside the 10-yard line, but Barden draped his arms around Asomugha, prompting a penalty that moved the ball back to the Philadelphia 36 with 25 seconds left.

“I tried to make a play on it, but must have gotten my arm on him,’’ Barden, who earlier on the drive drew a pass-interference call, told the New York Post.

Manning, who led the Giants to a Super Bowl victory last season against the New England Patriots, threw an incomplete pass on third down with 21 seconds remaining.

Tynes, who came into the final drive having successfully converted all 11 field-goal attempts this season, saw his first attempt go wide left. However, Reid called timeout, giving Tynes another opportunity. On Tynes’ second attempt, he kicked the ball straight, but it fell about a yard shy.

Reid said he initially regretted calling the timeout, designed to ice Tynes on his first attempt.

“When you’re surrounding by 66,000 people that probably wanna rip your head off, yeah,” Reid told the Associated Press.

The Eagles, who have won their three games by a combined four points against the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and New York, then ran out the clock.

Barden, who helped Flintridge Prep win a CIF Southern Section championship in 2003, finished with two catches for 36 yards. He caught a 31-yard pass from Manning that was part of a touchdown drive that culminated with Manning hitting Bear Pascoe for a six-yard touchdown pass to give the Giants a 17-16 lead with 6:45 remaining.

Philadelphia took a 19-17 lead on a 26-yard field goal by Alex Henery with 1:49 remaining. Philadelphia improved to 8-1 in its last nine meetings against New York, dating back to 2008. The Eagles are in first place in the National Football Conference’s East Division.

Philadelphia will next meet the host Pittsburgh Steelers at 10 a.m. PDT Sunday. New York, which saw its two-game winning streak end, will face the visiting Cleveland Browns at 10 a.m. PDT Sunday. The Eagles will travel to the Giants on Dec. 30.

TEAMS EARN CIF RANKINGS

A host of local teams are ranked among the top 10 in their respective CIF Southern Section divisions in polls released Monday.

Boys’ water polo leads the way, as Glendale remains No. 1, Crescenta Valley is No. 5 and Flintridge Prep is No. 6 in Division V.

In football, St. Francis dropped from fourth to eighth in the Western Division.

In boys’ cross-country, Flintridge Prep is second in Division II and Crescenta Valley is ninth in Division I. In girls’ cross-country, Flintridge Prep is second in Division V.

QB CLUB TO HOLD MEETING

The Glendale YMCA Quarterback Club will conduct its fourth meeting at 11:30 a.m. today at The Elk’s Lodge, 120 E. Colorado St., Glendale.

The club, which is in its 70th year, is geared to support the Crescenta Valley, Glendale, Hoover and St. Francis high football teams and the Glendale Community College football program.

The guest speaker will be John Pemberton, a retired PAC- 12 official.

Lunch is $17 at the door for members and $20 for guests. A yearly club membership is $50.