Peace Is the Goal of This Turf Battle

Saturday morning, former and current PJ Crips from the Imperial Courts housing project in Watts massed near their gymnasium. They were on a mission to the distant land of Alhambra to proudly defend their neighborhood.

Nearly 40 strong, they rumbled out of the projects in cars, vans and even a bus. But this time, the warriors would bring no guns. This time, they planned to use bombs.

And the bombs--long passes--worked spectacularly as the squad from Watts demolished a makeshift team of Latino former gang members from a variety of Eastside barrios in a raucous, good-spirited game of tackle football at Granada Park in Alhambra.

The score was 58-0, but that was probably the least important part of the game.

“We need more of this type of thing to release some frustration with sports instead of with weapons,” said Dominic Biddle, the quarterback and leader of the Imperial Courts football team who threw four touchdown passes. “We get to mingle with other cultures. They get to know us. It’s called unity.”

The game, part of a growing peace movement by gangs throughout the city, was organized by Gilbert Sanchez of Cal State L.A’s Gang Violence Bridging Program and Dewayne Holmes, an ex-PJ Crip and community activist.

“We want the youth to interact with each other, to respect each other, to get along with each other,” Sanchez said.

Early in the game, one of the smallest players on the field, an ex-gang member from Lincoln Heights, remained standing after taking a wicked hit from a man twice his weight. He finally went down after being gang tackled, but not before earning the respect of the PJs.

“That guy got game. That guy’s got heart,” came a chorus from the PJ sideline.

For a while, it looked as though the game would not even take place because of a shortage of players from the Eastside. While the men from Watts practiced, only eight rivals showed up at the park.

Finally, three players from Watts, eager for a game, volunteered for duty against their own homeboys. They paid the price with taunts and especially hard tackles.

“This is like a family reunion for some of us,” said Ron Jordan as he watched the game. “Some of these people have been trapped in the projects, and it’s good for them to come out here and see different people, different grass, different houses.”

Though quarterback Biddle led his team to touchdown after touchdown, the game’s most exciting moment was provided by the PJs’ defensive squad after it intercepted a pass. One player lateraled to Sammy “F Dog” Garcia, who took off on a frantic, madcap dash that ended with a flying five-yard horizontal leap into the end zone. The Imperial Courts team and supporters erupted in jubilance.

“That’s going to be talked about for a long, long time,” said Camellia Woodruff, an Imperial Courts resident, as she watched the play. “You know how people get together and talk about the old times and things that happened? Well, right there, that’s going to be one of the things they talk about. In about five years, that jump is gonna be, like, 30 feet long.”

Before and after the game, all the players posed for a group picture, arms around each other.

“This is another chance to prove to society that we can get along,” said Jacob Escraeno for the Eastside squad. “It’s not about color. It’s about respect. We got to show the young homies the way.”

One secret plan was not carried out. State Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles), a supporter of the gang peace movement, watched the game and even played safety on one down. The good-natured plot by the two sides was to purposely throw a pass to him in hopes that he would intercept it, and then gang tackle him on one of the muddy parts of the field. Hayden, however, wisely did not return to the game.

“We’ve had lots of bad things to remember in our lives,” said spectator Woodruff. “This will be one of the those nice days to remember. We need to have more days like today.”