A Classic Confrontation

Roosevelt High quarterback Fernando Delgadillo has one last chance to make his favorite dream a reality.

It’s a vision that started six years ago when he attended his first “East Los Angeles Classic.”

“I never really knew about the Roosevelt-Garfield football game until I was in sixth grade,” said Delgadillo, a 6-foot-3 senior. “I didn’t go to my first classic until the next year when I was 13. It felt great being in the stands with 25,000 people watching the game. You could feel the importance of the game and what it meant in the neighborhood. It’s for bragging rights.”

At the time, Delgadillo had never even worn a football uniform. But he knew then that one day he wanted to lead the Roughriders to a victory over Garfield with a last-second touchdown pass or run.

“Just winning would be great, but to make the winning score in a close game is how I want it,” Delgadillo said. “That way, people will remember it more.”

So far, Delgadillo’s dream has not been realized; Garfield has won the last five games between the teams.

Two years ago, Delgadillo was a rare sophomore starter in Roosevelt’s 20-6 defeat. Last season, Garfield crushed Roosevelt, 54-10.

“When I started as a 10th-grader, it was difficult to play because I was so nervous,” Delgadillo said. “I didn’t have the frame of mind to win. Then, last year wasn’t much better. This year, however, I’m more experienced. I’m more comfortable and relaxed going into the game.”

What makes the game different from other high school football rivalries is that not only does it annually draw crowds of more than 25,000 but it’s a neighborhood game played at local East Los Angeles College.

Athletes who play in the game remember it the rest of their lives, and every year it’s a tradition for them to pass on their experience to current players.

“This is a game that you truly can throw out the records for both teams,” first-year Roosevelt Coach Randy Rodriguez said. “You can learn that if you take a positive attitude, you can win no matter what. It’s something that you can take into real life.”

Delgadillo’s brother, Ricardo, played nose guard for the Roughriders in the 1991 game and lost, 7-0, to Garfield. It’s a defeat that he shares with his younger brother.

“Ever since I played, he’s been interested in this game and has always wanted to win,” Ricardo Delgadillo said. “I’ve told him to just do his job and to remember that this is his last year. I just want him to feel a victory. I’ll be in the stands nervous, watching him.”

With two previous games against Garfield under his belt, the younger Delgadillo says that the underdog Roughriders are ready to end their losing streak.

“This is it . . . the biggest game of the season,” he said. “We’re tired of being reminded by people about last year’s game. We can still go out and do something that we will always be remembered for, and that’s beat Garfield.”