Gardena Earns a Playoff Berth With 13-0 Win

Even though the Gardena High football team had lost seven of its last eight games, the Mohicans could still see light at the end of the tunnel. Shining brightly, and clearly within grasp, was a spot in the City 3-A playoffs.

Thursday night at Gardena, the Mohicans earned redemption with a 13-0 win over San Pedro and the right to face Marshall in the opening round of the playoffs next Friday at a site yet to be determined.

“I’m really excited, because all year we were playing with a team that was not really intact,” said Gardena Coach Dale Hirayama, whose team finished the regular season with a 3-7 record overall and a 2-1 mark in Pacific League play.

“We don’t have the greatest record, but we get to go to the playoffs and hopefully we can show some people that we’re still a good team.”

Both teams came into Thursday’s game with the opportunity for postseason play, but it was Gardena that played as though it wanted it more.

“I really thought that we’d at least score on them,” said San Pedro Coach Henry Pacheco. “I felt we moved the ball well enough on them, but then we stumbled.”

The Mohicans scored with just 22 seconds remaining in the first half when Khybdeed Hairston carried the ball in from 7 yards out. The touchdown was set up by a 49-yard pass from quarterback Eddie Matamors to Manley Woods that moved the ball to the San Pedro 6-yard line.

Matamors hooked up with Clifford Burkhalter on a scoring play with 2:20 left in the game.

San Pedro missed a chance to score when Prentice Parker intercepted Arnold Madrid’s pass at the Gardena 15 early in the first quarter. Madrid’s 57-yard touchdown run was called back on a penalty midway through the third quarter.