Larson, Birmingham Steal the Show, 28-24

The feature show Thursday night was a 48-minute thriller starring Danny Larson, a poised Birmingham High quarterback who led his team back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

Larson engineers the game-winning drive, calling the plays, scrambling for first downs on fourth-and-eight plays, and breaking a tackle for the game-winning score as the clock winds down.

Sound too good to be true? Well, Larson did it all--and more--in Birmingham’s 28-24 win over Canoga Park in a nonleague game at Canoga Park on Thursday.

And that’s putting it mildly.

Birmingham (2-0) blew a 14-0 first-quarter lead and trailed, 24-14, after David Erhardt scored from 47 yards on a quarterback keeper with 10:35 left.

Two series later, on third and 10 at the Canoga Park 43, Larson found Jake Brescher, who caught eight passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns. The streaking Brescher carried the ball all the way. Larson then hit Anthony McComb in the left corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion as Birmingham pulled to within 24-22 with 3:04 left. Canoga Park (0-2) recovered an onside kick at Birmingham’s 48, but Scott Byrd--who rushed for 92 yards in 20 carries--fumbled on the next play and Birmingham recovered at its 42 with 2:47 left.

The fun was just beginning.

Canoga Park’s Bobby Hines’ intercepted Larson’s first pass, but the play was nullified by a pass-interference penalty. After Brescher dropped a pass that would have given Birmingham a first down on a third-and-eight play, Larson’s scrambling bootleg on fourth down netted 11 yards and a first down.

Larson (13 of 27 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns) then hit Brescher for a 21-yard gain and a first down at the nine with 1:04 left, setting the stage for Larson’s game-winning dash.