GAME OF THE WEEK : San Pedro Hangs Tough, Sinks Dorsey

How good is the San Pedro High football team? At least a point better than last year’s team, which was enough Friday night for the Pirates to defeat Dorsey.

The defending City Section 3-A champion Pirates rallied for a 21-20 victory over the Dons in a Southern Pacific Conference opener at Daniels Field in San Pedro. Last year, the teams battled to a 20-20 tie. San Pedro has won 13 games in a row since then.

Trailing 20-14, San Pedro scored on an eight-yard run by Jeff Williams with 3:33 to playand Mike DiMassa kicked the extra point to put the Pirates ahead. Dorsey moved the ball to the San Pedro 45 on a 35-yard pass to Che Johnson with 2:11 to go, but San Pedro’s Mike Lennox came up with an interception with 1:24 to seal the victory.

Williams rushed for 105 yards in 18 carries and Lindsey Moore gained 95 yards in 12 tries for San Pedro.

Dorsey used a pair of big plays to open a 14-6 halftime lead.

Defensive lineman Demarco McKeever caught a tipped pass from quarterback Chris Pappas and returned it for a 17-yard touchdown to give the Dons a 6-0 lead with 1:10 to play in the first quarter.

Scrambling under pressure, quarterback Rodric Brown broke free for a 68-yard touchdown run with 1:14 left before halftime. Johnson ran in for the two-point conversion to make the score 14-6. Brown had 92 yards in six carries and Johnson rushed for 52 yards in 12 tries for Dorsey.

“We made some mistakes and there are some things we need to iron out,” Dorsey Coach Paul Knox said. “But we played as hard as we could. I couldn’t ask for more.”

San Pedro utilized an eight-play, 65-yard drive for its opening score on a one-yard sneak by Pappas in the first minute of the second quarter. Pappas also scored on another one-yard sneak with 4:25 left in the third quarter, and Williams bolted in for the two-point conversion to tie, 14-14. The touchdown culminated an 81-yard drive which consumed nearly six minutes. Next week: Washington at Dorsey.