Banning Takes a Seat at the Top

The crowd started lining up outside the gates at Daniels Field in San Pedro more than 90 minutes before Friday’s Harbor-area football showdown between San Pedro and Wilmington Banning.

And the 4,000 that found seats or standing room in the stadium watched Banning dominate the two-time defending City Section 4-A champions in a 40-9 Southern Pacific Conference victory.

Banning improved to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in conference play. San Pedro, which lost four fumbles, is 5-3 and 2-3.

“We knew our defense was going to handle them,” said Banning’s Mike Cockrell, a senior wide receiver and defensive back. “It doesn’t matter how the game starts. Our defense is stepping up.”

The victory put Banning in a four-way tie for first place in conference play with two games remaining. The Pilots, Dorsey, Crenshaw and Carson each have one loss.

“It’s going to go down to the last game,” Banning Coach Chris Gutierrez said. “That’s not a surprise. This conference is always tough to win.”

Banning had only one tough spot against San Pedro. The Pilots fumbled on the game’s first possession and spotted San Pedro a 3-0 lead on a 49-yard field goal by Sean Rittgers.

It was the second consecutive week that Banning lost a fumble on its first possession and watched its opponent convert the turnover into points.

“We need to kick-start our offense,” Gutierrez said. “We can’t afford to keep starting that way.”

Banning limited the Pirates to 13 yards and two first downs in the first half and forged a 24-3 lead. Arturo Torres tied the score with a 25-yard field goal with 1:36 left in the first quarter, tailback Chris Howard put the Pilots ahead with an 11-yard touchdown run a minute into the second quarter and fullback Mike Limosnero provided a comfortable lead with scoring runs of one and four yards.

Torres kicked a 35-yard field goal with 9:50 left in the third quarter before San Pedro cut the lead to 27-9 on a two-yard run by Brent Trice.

But Banning did not let up, scoring on a 44-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mike Garrison to Cockrell and a four-yard run by Garrison in the fourth quarter.

Howard had 111 yards in 21 carries and Limosnero gained 62 yards in 18 carries. Garrison completed seven of 10 passes for 105 yards. Cockrell had five receptions for 72 yards.