Success Came in Title Waves for San Pedro, Hawthorne : Division III: Cougar seniors were again able to rise to the occasion in a 14-6 victory over Bell Gardens.

Minutes after Hawthorne High won its first Southern Section football title since 1954, Cougar fullback-linebacker Tevita Moala scraped mud off of his hand and said of his senior teammates, “We’ve left some big footprints for the next kids.”

As freshmen, the class of 1993 fielded a 10-0 team. Their sophomore team was 8-1-1, and their varsity record for two seasons was 21-5, capped by Friday night’s 14-6 victory over Bell Gardens in the Division III championship game at La Mirada High.

The sophomore team in 1990 made a lasting impression on Coach Dan Robbins, who coached the sophomores before becoming Hawthorne’s varsity coach last year.

Early that season, the Cougars traveled to Rialto to play Eisenhower and came away with an 8-8 tie, missing victory when a short field-goal attempt sailed wide right as the game ended. Several members of that Eisenhower team later played on the varsity team that was ranked No. 1 nationally by the USA Today for much of last season.

“I remember and (defensive coordinator) Tai Togia and I used to say back then that we wished the lower levels had some sort of playoffs,” Robbins said. “The major plus with varsity football is you get a chance to prove yourself.”

With tailback Corey McCoy sidelined because of an ankle injury for the final five games of the season, Hawthorne relied on Moala, who rushed for 1,300 yards as a sophomore but has mostly played defense the past two seasons.

Moala rushed for 178 yards in eight carries against Bell Gardens, including touchdown runs of 65 and 71 yards on a muddy field.

Asked afterward if he had any traction, Moala lifted his heel, which was covered with mud, and said: “Does it look like it? It was like skiing. I felt like I was going downhill and just ran and ran and ran.”

As he has on several occasions this season, Moala played in pain. He has been bothered by a sore shoulder for several weeks. During timeouts, he appeared to be staggering on the field, but he managed to play one of his best games.

Moala, the Bay League most valuable player, made 11 tackles at linebacker to finished the season with a school-record 167 tackles.

Robbins hopes the program will benefit from its most successful season in 38 years. The 1954 Hawthorne team won the Northern Division title with a 39-13 victory over Basic, Nev.

“Getting to the semifinals was a big thing for this team,” said Robbins, whose team lost in the second round of last year’s Division III playoffs to eventual champion Los Alamitos. “We have a lot of good players returning, and our juniors know how to win a big game.”

Hawthorne expects to return eight offensive starters, including quarterback Kenji Tatum, receiver-cornerback Justin Stallings and defensive lineman Daniel Dorsey.

McCoy, who watched the game on crutches from the sideline, recognized the importance of the victory to the school’s program. Before he was hurt, the senior led the Cougars with 1,335 yards and 17 touchdowns rushing, averaging 12.8 yards a carry.

“I’m just glad that we finally got over the hump,” McCoy said. “Year after year we would go out in the first or second round, but we finally did it.”

Hawthorne’s defense shut down Bell Gardens, limiting the Lancers to 117 yards rushing in 43 carries.

Robbins received a phone call Friday from former Hawthorne Coach Hal Chauncey, who guided the 1954 squad to the championship.

“He said he was proud of our team and I was honored to get to talk with him,” Robbins said.