CITY SECTION : Carson, Dorsey Win Semifinals

Carson High School and Dorsey will meet in the City Section 4-A championship game next weekend after winning in the semifinals Friday night.

Carson routed Crenshaw, 58-7, to improve to 10-1, and Dorsey downed El Camino Real, 20-7. Dorsey is 9-3.

Dorsey, which last played in a City championship game in 1983--as a member of the 3-A Division--will face Carson at El Camino College in Torrance on Friday or Saturday.

In a 3-A semifinal, Santiago Alvarez completed 25 of 33 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns to lead Franklin to a 28-6 win over top-seeded South Gate at Wilson High.

Franklin (12-1) will play Garfield (10-1-1), which defeated Locke, 40-14, in the other City 3-A semifinal game.

Dorsey utilized is superior speed against El Camino Real, with Kenya Smith scoring on an 80-yard punt return and Lamont Warren

“They dominated us, and by that I mean they just had more size and quickness,” El Camino Real co-Coach Mike Maio said. “The big play hurt us.”

Dorsey trailed, 7-6, but took the lead on Smith’s 80-yard punt return with 4:58 left in the third quarter.

“No doubt about it,” said Paul Knox, the Dorsey co-coach. “He broke the game open.”

El Camino Real’s offense was unable to counter the Smith touchdown and gained just 42 yards in the second half. The Conquistadores finished with 105 yards to 252 for Dorsey.

Warren, who rushed for a game-high 163 yards in 19 carries, punctuated the victory with his 44-yard dash through the right side with 4:52 left to give Dorsey a 20-7 lead.

“Their speed, that’s what killed us,” said El Camino Real fullback-linebacker Jamal Anderson, who was held to 54 yards in 12 carries. “We contained them, but when they got outside, it was just too much speed.”

And too little El Camino Real depth.

“We were counting on that,” Knox said in reference to the Conquistadores’ two-way players tiring. “We knew they had a couple of guys on the line and a couple of linebackers who were going both ways. We knew that, eventually, a linebacker would be a step slow getting to the hole.”

El Camino Real (6-6) held Dorsey to 116 yards in the first half and was helped by three Don turnovers--two inside the El Camino Real 20-yard line.

Defense was again the key for Franklin, which handed South Gate its first loss in 25 games.

In its last eight games, Franklin has given up just 12 points.

Alvarez has passed for 3,677 yards and 49 touchdowns this season.

In Garfield’s victory, Hiliaro Espinoza rushed for 156 yards and scored on runs of two, 21 and 29 yards to overcome Locke’s early 14-0 lead.

It was the second time this season that Garfield has defeated Locke. In their Southeastern Conference game, Garfield prevailed, 27-20.