There’s No Quit in Fremont, With Victory Over Taft

In 22 years of coaching at Fremont High, Sam Sullivan makes sure his players learn at least one thing: Never quit.

“Fremont kids don’t give up,” Sullivan said. “That’s the one thing I try to instill in them from day one.”

Sullivan’s lesson was put to the test Wednesday night in a City Championship quarterfinal playoff game against Woodland Hills Taft. Fremont went scoreless for eight minutes in the second half but rallied from an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Toreadors, 67-63, and earn a berth in Saturday’s semifinals.

Junior guard Kenton Paulino and freshman forward Mark Bradford combined to make six consecutive free throws in the final 45 seconds to secure the victory. Paulino, who scored 44 points this season against Crenshaw, finished with 20 points and Bradford added 19.

It was a lost opportunity for a Taft team trying to make its first semifinal appearance in school history. The Toreadors (20-3) overcame plenty of adversity to take a 52-44 lead with 6:20 to go.

First, freshman standout Steve Smith didn’t play under orders from his parents because of a non-school issue. Then 6-foot-8 center Gregg Guenther, who towered over everyone by at least four inches, went scoreless in the first half and seemed surprisingly passive.

The Toreadors trailed, 38-29, at halftime and were soon down by 11 points.

But Guenther was jolted out of hibernation and senior Ronald Gray started scoring. Fremont (18-9) went cold. Over the next eight minutes, the Pathfinders were outscored, 19-0.

“I was surprised they even came back,” Paulino said. “We thought they rolled over.”

It was up to Fremont to come back, and leading the way were Paulino and Bradford. The Pathfinders went on a 10-0 streak to take a 54-52 lead with 4:51 to play on Bradford’s three-point play. After Guenther tied the score with a basket, the Pathfinders began to pull away for a final time.

Fremont, with no seniors in its starting lineup, was supposed to be a year away from challenging for a City title. But the rise of Paulino and Bradford has the Pathfinders one win away from playing for a City Championship.

For Taft, Gray scored 21 points and Guenther had 13.

It was the final Taft game for Coach Mark Drucker, who is retiring after seven years to become athletic director.