El Camino Real Battles Gamely but Loses, 20-7

Despite the presence of six two-way players, El Camino Real High held its own for more than a half in a City Section 4-A Division semifinal game Friday night.

Improbable? You bet.

The Conquistadores, in fact, held a one-point halftime lead over powerful Dorsey. It was as though those two-way players had said, “No way.”

Dorsey’s superior speed and depth, however, finally wore down El Camino Real in the second half as the Dons prevailed, 20-7, at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Dorsey, which last played in a City championship game in 1983--as a member of the 3-A Division--will face Carson next week at El Camino College in Torrance.

“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.”

Maio knows when somebody hits the home run, because he is also the school’s baseball coach. And, indeed, Dorsey won it with the long ball.

Dorsey (9-3) trailed, 7-6, but took the lead on an 80-yard punt return by Kenya Smith 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.

Lamont Warren, who rushed for a game-high 163 yards in 19 carries, punctuated the victory with a 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 were helped by three Don turnovers--two inside the El Camino Real 20-yard line.

The Conquistadores, who had passed for just one touchdown all season, had two in two plays in the second quarter--although only one counted--on the in which it took the lead.

El Camino Real linebacker Troy Snider recovered a fumbled Dorsey snap at the Dons’ 26. After five running plays moved the ball to the 14, quarterback Tony Bordwell connected with receiver Kenneth Stewart on a lob play in the left corner of the end zone. The play was nullified because of an illegal man downfield, however.

On third and 16 from the 20, Bordwell hit Anderson on a screen pass over the middle. Anderson darted into the left corner--waving the ball at Dorsey defenders--and sophomore Joseph La Firenza added the extra point for a 7-6 margin with 3:44 left in the half.

The completion was Bordwell’s only one in three attempts.

Dorsey took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, capitalizing on an eight-yard punt by La Firenza that positioned the ball at the El Camino Real 29. Warren scored from five yards with 49 seconds left in the quarter to close out the eight-play drive.

Yet for El Camino Real, the loss was something of a moral victory. As recently as last season, the program was mired in a 24-game winless streak. Maio, in fact, hardly seemed downcast.

“I mean this from the heart: I’m really proud of the way our guys played,” the coach said, choking back his emotions. “Every guy stuck in there and held his own.”