NOTEBOOK / GARY KLEIN : Title Feat Completes Baldwin Park’s Season

When the Baldwin Park High football team began its workouts in August, Brave Coach Tony Zane thought he had a team that would make the playoffs and last, perhaps, a round or two.

But Baldwin Park defeated previously unbeaten Nogales, 28-7, to win the Southern Section Division IV championship on Saturday. And a few days later, Zane still sounded as if he couldn’t quite believe it.

“We had a lot of good fortune along the way,” he said.

Nevertheless, this was a Baldwin Park team that overcame deficits to beat Glendora, Damien and Nogales in the playoffs.

Against Nogales, Baldwin Park was behind, 7-0, after running back Lawrence Lanham scored on a 66-yard run on the Nobles’ first play from scrimmage.

“I thought, ‘Uh-oh, here we go again,’ ” said Zane, whose team had lost to Nogales, 35-14, during the regular season. “I had a watch on him as he was running down the sidelines and it was like it was another track meet.”

Baldwin Park held Nogales scoreless the rest of the game, and quarterback Marc Ruiz provided two touchdown passes as the Braves won their second Southern Section championship.

“I think the kids just focused on what they had to do, especially defensively,” Zane said. “They did what they had to do to stop them. It was a great season.”

End of the road: Arroyo Coach Don MacKinnon also described his team’s season as “great,” despite their 21-16 loss to Corona in the Division V championship game.

“Our kids just played great and that’s what makes losing the game so hard,” MacKinnon said. “They finished off the season with their best effort ever.

“It was our game to win or lose. Unfortunately we made a couple mistakes that cost us.”

Arroyo lost a fumble with 2 minutes 35 seconds left and had a pass intercepted on its final offensive play to secure the win for Corona.

MacKinnon, however, was proud of his team, which lost its first two games, then rebounded to win the Mission Valley League championship en route to its first championship game appearance since 1987.

“It was a great, great year,” he said.

Honor roll: The 1991 Times All-San Gabriel Valley football team will be announced in next Thursday’s edition.

The first and second teams from The Times’ 12 circulation areas were chosen by Times sportswriters with the assistance of area coaches. A breakfast and awards ceremony at 9 a.m. Jan. 12 at the Pasadena Hilton, 150 S. Los Robles Ave., will honor the first-team San Gabriel Valley selections. At the ceremony, the area’s back, lineman and coach of the year will be named.

Fast finisher: Angel Martinez of San Gabriel High placed fourth in the boys’ race at the Kinney national cross-country championships on Saturday at Balboa Park in San Diego.

Martinez, a senior who won the state championship, ran the 5,000-meter course in 15:30.6. Jeff Ihmels of Williston, N.D., won the event in 15:03.6.

Collector’s pin: Kent Davis of Mt. San Antonio College won the state wrestling championship in the 158-pound division Saturday at West Valley College in Saratoga.

Davis, 28, defeated Neil Mason of Moorpark College, 4-2, to win the title. Davis reached the final by pinning defending state champion Chong Lee of West Valley in a record 34 seconds.

Davis was named All-American after finishing with a 24-4 record. It’s the second time he has earned that recognition. In 1984, Davis finished fourth in the state before joining the military.