Cleveland Rocks Reseda, 36-35

Where once there was darkness . . .

There was the brilliance of new lights at Cleveland High. Cross-town rivals lit up the scoreboard. And synapses on both sides snapped and burned like 1,000-watt bulbs as coaches called every gimmick and trick play in their playbooks.

Fake punts, reverses and halfback option passes scorched defenses. Four touchdowns were scored in the last three minutes of the first half. And Reseda nearly capitalized on getting five downs on its last possession.

But beaming brightest was the face of quarterback Antwine Barfield, who catapulted into the end zone on a two-point conversion run with 1:15 to play to give Cleveland a 36-35 victory over Reseda on Friday night.

“I saw the end zone and just accelerated,” Barfield said.

The play was a pass-run option and Barfield, a junior who passed for three touchdowns and ran for one, made the right decision.

As for perhaps going for a tying PAT kick, that was not an option to Coach Bill Paden.

“No doubt,” he said. “We went for the victory.”

Paden ignored recent history. Three times in recent years Cleveland had lost to Reseda largely because of an inability to make two-point conversions. The victory was the Cavaliers’ first over the Regents since 1995, and only the second since tailback Albert Fann was the man for Cleveland in the mid-1980s.

“It felt good to get the monkey off our back,” Paden said.

Cleveland (2-0) did so without the services of tailback Matt Clark for much of the game. Clark sprained his right ankle tackling Reseda’s Eddie Robinson in the first quarter and did not play again until the final quarter.

Clark, who rushed for 215 yards last week, managed 53 yards in nine carries, but other Cleveland weapons were brought to light. Barfield completed 10 of 15 passes for 206 yards and junior Randy Bundy had five catches for 127 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown on the last play of the first half.

Fullback Khris Kiwanuka scored on a 19-yard run and hauled in a nine-yard pass from Barfield for the Cavaliers’ last touchdown, which culminated a 65-yard drive. The key play was a 37-yard run by Robert Padilla on a fake punt.

Reseda (2-0) overcame a 28-20 halftime deficit by scoring on a 49-yard halfback option pass from Robinson to Joe Guerrero in the third quarter and on a five-yard run by Robinson with 2:10 to play.

Guerrero, who rushed for 147 yards in five carries, also scored late in the first half on a 76-yard counter play. Robinson had 123 yards and two touchdowns in 22 carries.

With 19 seconds to play, Reseda got a fifth down from its 23-yard line and put it to use as Matt Diaz passed 18 yards to Dario Ojeda for a first down. But Diaz was sacked and Guerrero was pushed out of bounds on a hook-and-ladder play as time expired.

Cleveland, which lost the last four meetings between the teams by a total of 14 points, had finally beat the Regents.

“When Matt went down, I knew it was time for Antwine and I to shine,” Bundy said.

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BY THE NUMBERS

A look at the last six meetings between Cleveland and Reseda:

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Year Result 2000 Cleveland, 36-35 1999 Reseda, 21-14 1998 Reseda, 20-18 1997 Reseda, 22-18 1996 Reseda, 21-20 1995 Cleveland, 20-14

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COVERAGE INSIDE

TYLER ON THE RUN

Tyler Ebell of Ventura rushes for 349 yards, best performance in the region. Page 12

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Coach Alan Eberhart makes sure his players realize how good John Sciarra is. Page 12

VALENCIA WILTS

Peninsula scores 15 points to rally for 25-21 victory over Valencia. Page 13

SECOND IS BEST FOR TAFT

Four touchdowns in second quarter key Taft victory over Locke, 41-30. Page 13

FIVE FOR FIVE

Granada Hills’ Joey Rodriguez scores fourth and fifth TDs in as many catches. Page 14