San Fernando Stops Fann but Cleveland Keeps Its Win Streak Alive, 17-0

Well, it happened. Albert Fann, he of 786 yards and 12 touchdowns in five victories, was finally stopped cold.

Fann’s grim numbers: 24 yards on 13 carries and no touchdowns. Cleveland High, the team that lived on grind-it-out football the way it was played when helmets were leather and noses were flat, had its Red Grange, its Bronco Nagurski, throttled.

But Cleveland Coach Steve Landress surprised all by dipping into a thoroughly modern bag of tricks to lead the visiting Cavaliers past San Fernando, 17-0, Friday night.

“People say this team is Albert Fann and nothing else,” Landress said. “I guess people won’t say that anymore.”

Leading 7-0 in the third quarter, Landress called for a fake to Fann and a handoff to diminutive fullback Peter Woods. A 5-6, 165-pound blocking back, Woods made like a bowling ball gone berserk, rolling 27 yards for a touchdown.

San Fernando mustered several drives, but on each occasion the Tigers were either stopped on fourth down or they turned the ball over. Cleveland safety Andre Riggs intercepted two passes in the fourth quarter to silence San Fernando once and for all.

Cleveland passed the ball 21 times, with four players attempting passes. Twice Cleveland used razzle-dazzle reverse-option passes.

Mario Hull started at quarterback but connected on only 2 of 6 passes. Jamie Grossman, a 6-0 junior, replaced Hull and made the most of the opportunity by hitting on 7 of 14 attempts for 99 yards. Grossman also dashed for 12 yards on a crucial third-and-nine play in the fourth quarter.

Cleveland got all the points it needed when Jay Rich returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. San Fernando could not get the ball into the end zone, and Fann never got going, so the rest of the half was a scoreless shoving match.

Terry Smith gained 65 yards on 18 carries, and Tommy Howard added 52 on 9 carries for San Fernando. The Tigers out-gained Cleveland, 150 to 68, on the ground, but Cleveland’s 137 yards through the air were the difference.

Jamie Gordon capped the scoring with a 39-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.

Cleveland is 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the Valley 4-A League. San Fernando fell to 1-5 and 0-1. The teams that have beaten San Fernando have a combined record of 29-3, including Friday night’s games.

Fann managed only 11 yards on 5 carries in the first half. His longest gain, a 12-yard dash around right end, came on a broken play. He was supposed to pass, but a San Fernando defender stepped into Fann’s path as he was about to throw. He pulled the ball in, ducked the rush and sped around end.

San Fernando’s inability to convert on two fourth down-and-one situations ended two drives.

After Rich’s scoring kickoff return, San Fernando marched 72 yards on 16 plays, eating up eight minutes. On fourth-and-goal from the one, however, Smith was stopped on a plunge. In the second quarter, the Tigers drove to the Cleveland 25 but were stopped on fourth-and-one when Mauldin’s sneak went nowhere.

San Fernando ran 31 plays to only 19 for Cleveland in the first half.