San Fernando Runs by Montclair Prep as the Clock Runs Down, 22-7

With just 10 minutes left in Friday night’s game, San Fernando suddenly found itself with only a 9-7 lead over underdog Montclair Prep.

So, the bigger, faster Tigers turned to what they do best--running the ball--and chewed up 80 yards and seven minutes of the clock to put the game away at their home opener.

A last-second interception return for touchdown finished things off for San Fernando, which won, 22-7.

“What happened the last five minutes should have happened the first five minutes, but we did what we wanted to do,” said San Fernando coach Tom Hernandez. “We played well, but this was not a good game.”

Montclair Prep coach Pat Blackburn said that if losses could be considered a good thing, this one was. Last year, his small, private school had been mauled, 47-7, by San Fernando.

“We couldn’t stop them when we had to, but I’m ecstatic,” Blackburn said. “I have to give the kids credit. They never quit and they were in the game until the end.”

Perhaps most pleasing to the coach was a Mountie defense that bent but never broke--until the last few minutes.

San Fernando’s offense was shared generously among quarterback Jim Mauldin and seven running backs. Star fullback Terry Smith, who scored the game’s first touchdown, injured his ankle just before the half.

Brent Huff came in and finished with 39 yards on 10 carries and the Tigers’ other offensive touchdown. Danny Leos added 9 carries for 34 yards.

Meanwhile, the Mounties’ offense spent most of the game on the sidelines as San Fernando’s ball-control offense held court on field.

When Montclair Prep did get the ball, the offense faltered. Mountie quarterback Frank Charles completed only 7 of 17 passes and threw 3 costly interceptions.

His runners did not fare any better. Montclair Prep finished with only 56 yards rushing.

However, the Mountie defense, led by linebacker Paul Anderson and lineman Ron Walker, kept things interesting.

San Fernando started right up on its first possession, driving 62 yards in 13 plays for the score and using up more than seven minutes of the clock.

Wary of last week’s performance, when the Tigers fumbled three times in a 14-13 loss to Oxnard, San Fernando kept its offense simple. They avoided tricky option pitches, running into the middle instead.

“We may have been a little cautious,” Henderson said. “We didn’t want to give the ball up.”

But the strategy played right into the strength of the Tigers’ mountainous front line. San Fernando’s runners have the luxury of running behind the likes of Donny Oberlander (6-2, 240), Alex Casas (6-2, 245) and Louie Maldonado (6-2, 235).

The Tiger offense controlled the ball for 18 of the first 24 minutes. The pattern continued into the second half, with San Fernando running up 243 total yards to Montclair Prep’s 122.

But, after the opening touchdown, the Tigers could manage only a second quarter field goal.

It looked as though that would be all they needed, until an Anthony Pack kick return of 27 yards and some nifty running from reserve back Joe Crochham ended up with a Mountie score.

From there on out, San Fernando got tough. And when defensive back Ray Robinson collected his interception and touchdown, the Tigers could breathe easy again.

San Fernando is 1-1. Montclair Prep, of the Alpha League, is 1-2.