Half-Baked Sylmar Eases Past Jefferson, 47-31

Will the real Sylmar High team please step up?

The Spartans dominated the first half of a 47-31 victory over Jefferson in first-round play of the City Section 4-A playoffs.

But they flailed in the second half, getting outgained, outscored and outhustled.

Durell Price, who rushed for 255 yards in 21 carries, summed up the Spartans’ second-half slide.

“It can’t happen again next week because we won’t be in the playoffs anymore if it does,” he said.

In the first half, top-seeded Sylmar (11-0) outgained 16th-seeded Jefferson, 385-127, and led, 34-14.

But from then on, Sylmar was outgained, 190-150, and outscored, 17-13.

Price, who ran for three touchdowns and has 35 this season, provided 73 of the yards on a touchdown run with 1 minute 34 seconds left.

Jefferson’s Jimmy Brown kept the Spartans off-balance, scrambling effectively and completing eight of 23 passes for 133 yards--completing seven of 14 in the second half.

Sylmar’s Chris Cervantes was sharp in the first half, completing five of six for 132 yards.

Cervantes and Ochoa, who had three catches for 123 yards, beat a Jefferson blitz with a 50-yard bomb in the first quarter that tied the game, 7-7.

The pair connected again on a 30-yard pass play that set up the Spartans’ third touchdown, a 40-yard run by Gerrod Taylor that gave Sylmar a 21-7 lead.

Taylor had 81 yards in eight carries.

Brown had 88 yards in 14 carries for the Democrats (6-5).