Price’s Runs Help Purge Bad Memory : Football: Junior runs for 237 yards and four touchdowns as Sylmar beats Carson in City semifinals to avenge loss to Colts.

A year ago, Durell Price stood on the Sylmar High football field, openly sobbing on his brother Deon’s shoulder after a one-point loss to Carson High in a City Section 4-A Division semifinal.

Fast-forward one year.

On Friday night, Price personally made sure history did not repeat itself.

The 6-foot-1, 215-pound junior running back rushed for 237 yards and four touchdowns in 25 carries to lead Sylmar’s 27-19 victory over Carson in front of a capacity crowd.

The top-seeded Spartans (13-0) will face Crenshaw, a 26-19 winner over Dorsey on Friday, in the championship game next Saturday at El Camino College in Torrance. Sylmar, which is making its second appearance in the final in three years, defeated Carson, 17-0, in the 1992 championship game.

Price, like the rest of his teammates, drew motivation from last year’s 22-21 loss to Carson.

“We practiced with 22-21 on the scoreboard all week,” Price said. “I couldn’t get it out of my head.”

Price, also a starting middle linebacker, benefited from outstanding line play in addition to downfield blocks by receivers Mike Cervantes and Eddie Lopez.

“Yeah, it wasn’t all me,” said Price, who scored on runs of 51, 53, one and 48 yards. “It was my quarterback, my line. . . . It was that seven in front of me.”

Carson (4-9), which forfeited three regular-season victories for using an ineligible player, made a fourth-quarter run at Sylmar, but could not come up with the big play.

Carson pulled to 27-19 on a seven-yard pass from Ramon Rodgers to Llewellyn Miller and an extra point with 2 minutes 18 seconds remaining.

But Sylmar’s Galdino Cortez then recovered an onside kick and the Spartans ran out the clock to end it.

Although Sylmar dominated, outgaining Carson, 403-240, the Colts never let up. Sylmar Coach Jeff Engilman blamed himself and his staff for not putting Carson away.

“You keep letting a team in like that and you never know,” Engilman said. “We might have gotten too conservative and that’s the coaching staff’s fault.”

The Spartans dominated the first half from the opening kickoff.

Sylmar’s Thomas Toledo recovered Jose Duarte’s onside kick at the Carson 46 and before the Colts knew what hit them, the Spartan offense was running onto the field.

Sylmar’s first series, however, sputtered. Greg Marquez was sacked for a five-yard loss on the first play and an illegal procedure penalty killed the drive.

On Sylmar’s second series, Engilman wasted no time getting the ball into Price’s hands. Price, who has rushed for 1,770 yards this season, set up his own score with three carries for 28 yards. He then broke two tackles at the line of scrimmage and raced down the Sylmar sideline for a 53-yard score and a 7-0 lead.