Birmingham Capitalizes On Gardena’s Turnovers, 34-20
Lake Balboa Birmingham took control of its City Section semifinal Friday night by converting two Gardena turnovers into touchdowns in the first quarter, then ended the Panthers’ comeback bid by doing the same in the fourth quarter for a 34-20 victory at Pierce College.
The victory advances the sixth-seeded Patriots (10-3) into their first final since 1961.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Dec. 12, 2002 For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday December 12, 2002 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 10 inches; 366 words Type of Material: Correction
High school football -- Birmingham High last reached the City Section football final in 1963, not 1961 as reported in a Sports article Saturday.
Seventh-seeded Gardena (9-4) appeared to have pulled to within two points when Craig Bastiste returned Ryan Lombardo’s punt 70 yards for an apparent touchdown with two minutes left in third quarter. However, the touchdown was nullified by an illegal block in the back.
Dennis Keyes rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns in 19 carries for Birmingham. Lombardo completed 11 of 26 passes for 191 yards, including a 46-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Ravi Gangadean.
Payne accounted for 229 of Gardena’s 260 yards, passing for 135 and a touchdown.
-- Steven Herbert
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