Birmingham Arrives Late, Finishes Early in 20-19 Loss to Chatsworth

Time certainly wasn’t on Birmingham High’s side Friday night.

Twenty minutes before the scheduled start of the game, as Chatsworth’s homecoming court was parading around the field and Chatsworth’s football team was going through warm-up drills, Birmingham officials were on the telephone--trying to locate their school’s football team.

At 7:45 p.m., Birmingham’s bus finally pulled up. The reason for the late arrival?

“The school’s clocks were already set back,” Birmingham Coach Alan Epstein said. “I looked at the clock and it was 6 o’clock. A few minutes later I looked at my watch and it was 7:20.”

By the end of the game, it was Birmingham’s offense that didn’t have enough time as Chatsworth defeated the Braves, 20-19, in the Sunset League game at Chatsworth.

After Birmingham scored a touchdown to cut the Chancellors’ lead to 20-19 with three minutes left in the game, Chatsworth’s offense ran out the clock to secure the victory.

After Birmingham’s final touchdown, a two-yard run by Mike Flores, the Braves attempted a two-point conversion for the win. Chatsworth’s defense met the challenge, however, stopping Flores inches short of the goal line.

Chatsworth (4-2, 2-0) remains in first place while Birmingham dropped to 4-2, 1-1 in league.

Chatsworth had taken a 20-13 lead with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Chancellors moved the ball 76 yards on 12 plays and scored on a two-yard run by Patrick Clark, his second touchdown of the game.

Chatsworth played the entire second half without its leading rusher, Spence Durham, who suffered a bruised thigh near the end of the first half. Durham had gained 65 yards on 12 carries. Backup tailback Steve Smith picked up the slack, however, gaining 69 of his game-high 91 yards in the second half.

Birmingham trailed at halftime, 13-6, after three turnovers and two costly mistakes by the special teams, but tied the score on their first possession of the second half.

The Braves held the ball for the first six minutes of the third quarter and the 10-play, 55-yard drive was capped by Vince Tolliver’s 10-yard run around left end. Tolliver, who did not carry the ball in the first half, led Birmingham in rushing with 53 yards on 10 carries.

Chatsworth led, 7-6, late in the first half, but was able to score another touchdown after Birmingham quarterback Kevin Zietz threw his third interception of the first half. Zietz, who had thrown only three interceptions in Birmingham’s previous five games, finished 6 of 14 for 63 yards.

Danny Joella of Chatsworth returned Zietz’s third interception 44 yards to Birmingham’s four-yard line, and the Chancellors scored two plays later on a one-yard run by Patrick Clark. Chatsworth led, 13-6, after Matt Helm’s extra-point attempt was wide to the left.

A breakdown by the special teams cost Chatsworth a scoring opportunity on its previous possession. The Chancellors drove the ball to Birmingham’s three-yard line, but failed to score when Helm’s 20-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Marcel Sellers.