Defense Delivers a League Crown for San Fernando

Two minutes before the game between San Fernando and Granada Hills on Thursday night, Granada Hills Coach Darryl Stroh noticed a muddy patch on the field in front of his team’s bench.

San Fernando quickly dispatched 3 assistants, who arrived moments later with 3 shovels and scoops of sand.

But the Granada Hills offense remained bogged down nonetheless in a 24-3 San Fernando win at San Fernando. The victory gives the Tigers (7-3 overall) a 6-1 mark in North Valley League play, tying them with Granada Hills (8-2). San Fernando will be awarded the league’s top playoff berth based on head-to-head competition.

This one was won by the San Fernando defense, plain and simple. And plain and simple was what the Granada Hills offense was. The Highlanders tried to move the ball on the ground, but San Fernando stopped them repeatedly. Via the air, it was the same story. Granada Hills had sand kicked in its face all night long, finishing with only 114 yards of offense.

San Fernando free safety Howard McCrary was the big gun in the secondary. He intercepted 3 passes and recovered 2 fumbles in an effort that certainly came at the right time.

“I’ve played with Howard for a lot of years,” quarterback Michael Wynn said. “I always knew he had it in him, but that was an All-City performance tonight.”

McCrary recovered a fumble by Granada Hills’ Leon Glasgow on the second-half kickoff, and San Fernando quickly capitalized.

Wynn hit receiver Ed Carrillo from 28 yards to give San Fernando a 14-3 lead.

On Granada Hills’ next possession, McCrary intercepted a Chris Gadomski pass at the Granada Hills 40 and returned the ball to the 1. Duane Crenshaw bulled in for a 21-3 lead with 8:38 left in the third quarter.

Gadomski completed only 5 of 22 passes for 50 yards and threw 3 interceptions. He probably will see McCrary in his nightmares. McCrary leads Valley-area defensive backs in the City Section with 8 interceptions.

“He turned a close game into a runaway,” San Fernando Coach Tom Hernandez said.

Other than the play of the San Fernando defense, the game was error-filled. Granada Hills was penalized for 70 yards and the Tigers were flagged for a staggering 185 yards.

“It seemed like more than that,” said Wynn, who completed 5 of 18 for 107 yards and touchdowns of 49 and 28 yards.

San Fernando capped its scoring with a 37-yard field goal by Andrew Munoz in the fourth quarter.

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