Prep Football : Unbeaten San Fernando Wins, but Not Easily : Missed Extra Point Gives No. 2-Ranked Tigers a 21-20 Victory Over Crenshaw

San Fernando High School, a team that had beaten its first three opponents by a combined score of 92-12, ran into a little trouble Friday afternoon against L.A. Crenshaw. No, make that a lot of trouble.

The No. 2-ranked Tigers are still one of only two unbeaten and untied teams in the City 4-A Division--Carson is the other one--but only because of a missed extra point late in the game. The result was a 21-20 victory at Crenshaw.

“I feel lucky to get out 21-20,” San Fernando Coach Tom Hernandez said afterward.

“Was this a fitting showing for a team ranked so high?” he was asked.

“Ratings,” he responded, “what do they mean?”

Obviously not as much to San Fernando (4-0) as they do to Crenshaw (1-3).

“What I saw of San Fernando, I don’t think they deserve the rating they got,” Crenshaw Coach David Frierson said. “ . . . From the beginning (of the game) I didn’t think they were that good. Maybe it was a case of us being underrated.”

The Cougars, who open Pacific League play next week against Gardena, another ranked team, scored on their first series, with quarterback Dan Robinson setting up his own 4-yard scoring run with a 72-yard option keeper on the first play. Crenshaw made it 14-0 with 7:46 left in the first quarter as junior running back Shon Ellerbe (142 yards in 17 carries) ran 61 yards over right guard. Again, it came on the first play of the series.

San Fernando, 2-8 last season, responded with a quick score of its own--on the opening play of its series--with a pass, the weapon that has keyed the 1987 resurgence. From his own four-yard line, Joe Mauldin threw an eight-yard pass to Tommy Howard, who used head fakes to get by Crenshaw defenders and go for a 96-yard score. Mauldin finished 10 of 18 for 212 yards, with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.

San Fernando pulled even, 14-14, with 4:55 left in the half and never trailed again. Running back Eric Lee did the honors, going over from the three, and the Tigers made it 21-14 with 4:35 remaining in the third quarter, when Mauldin ran for 16 yards.

Then, after Kerry Auguster scored on a 44-yard sweep around right end with 3:25 to play, Frierson had to make a decision. In a one-point game, he played for a tie, or at least left it up to a defense that allowed 27 points last week to stop San Fernando in time for one more series. No matter--Glen Card, who had made good on both extra-point attempts earlier, missed this one wide right.

Ellerbe, who had 155 yards in 16 carries against Fairfax two weeks ago, finished with 142 in 17 against San Fernando.