South Gate Win Is a Struggle

Running back Jairo Garcia of South Gate High pounded headlong into Jordan defensive players Friday afternoon as if he was trying to live up to the Rams’ nickname.

Garcia, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound senior, carried 49 times, smashing into and bouncing off would-be tacklers in a game in which he never broke off a run longer than 13 yards.

Garcia finished with 223 hard-earned yards and six touchdowns as South Gate defeated Jordan, 51-45, in triple overtime in a Southeastern Conference game at Jordan.

“We knew Jordan was good, but we didn’t know they were that good,” said Garcia, who scored three touchdowns in regulation and one in each of the overtimes. “That team was for real.”

The score was 33-33 at the end of regulation. Under the City Section’s overtime procedure, teams trade four-play possessions that start at the 10-yard line. The first to score an unanswered touchdown wins.

South Gate (5-1 overall, 4-0 in conference) got the ball first and Garcia promptly ran it into the end zone on the first play. Jordan answered with a three-yard scoring run by Juan Rocha on second down.

Jordan won the flip in the second overtime and scored on its first play on a pass from David Jackson to Tyrone Riley. Garcia then scored from two yards on third down to send it into triple overtime.

South Gate got the ball first and Garcia again sprinted 10 yards for a touchdown. After two runs and an incomplete pass, Jordan faced fourth and 12. Jackson lofted a pass toward the right corner of the end zone, but South Gate’s Pedro Castaneda leaped and batted the ball away from receiver Kevin Patton to secure the victory.

Jordan (3-3, 2-3), which ended an 18-game losing streak in the first week of the season, looked very much like a playoff-bound team in the first half when the Bulldogs forged a 27-13 lead with two touchdowns in the final 44 seconds.

Senior Brandon Bullard, who gained 79 yards in 24 carries, scored on a four-yard run with 44 seconds left to put Jordan ahead, 20-13. On the ensuing possession, he intercepted a pass and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown.

Jordan, however, committed five turnovers in the third quarter--an interception and four lost fumbles--and South Gate pulled to within 27-25 on touchdown runs of one and five yards by Garcia.

South Gate went ahead with 11:20 left on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Hugo Avendano to Ricardo Gutierrez on a fourth-and-20 play. Avendano passed to Garcia for the two-point conversion and a 33-27 lead.