Crenshaw Upends Fremont

Brandon Mebane set the tone by sacking Fremont quarterback Michael Beach on the first play of the game. Crenshaw followed his lead and ended the Pathfinders’ hopes for an undefeated season.

Tight end Chris Porter’s 16-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter broke a tie and the Cougar defense put the clamps on Fremont in a 28-21 victory at home Friday.

Crenshaw (5-3, 3-0 in league) grabbed first place in the Coliseum League and can clinch the title with victories over Locke and Dorsey.

“It’s hard to say if we’ve got control,” Crenshaw Coach Robert Garrett said of the league race. “Every week in this league is tough.”

Fremont (7-1, 2-1) had been averaging nearly 49 points but was held to 153 total yards. Beach was sacked six times and completed six of 15 passes for 92 yards. One of those sacks, by Kristian Thompson and Dary Adway, ended the Pathfinders’ hopes on their final drive.

“I thought Mebane was the difference in the football game,” Fremont Coach Pete Duffy said. “Their defensive line played great. We made some miscues on offense. Stuff was there but they didn’t get it done.”

Mebane not only shined on defense, but he twice lined up at fullback and finished long first-half drives with two-yard touchdown runs. On defense, he was dominant with two sacks and a fumble recovery that set up Crenshaw’s winning drive.

Quarterback Andrew Simpson and wide receiver Daymeion Hughes connected on pass plays of 12, 20 and six yards during a nine-play, 61-yard drive, which ended with Simpson finding a wide-open Porter in the end zone with 9:13 remaining.

Simpson, who took over as the starting quarterback three weeks ago, completed 17 of 26 passes for 184 yards.

-- Eric Stephens

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Gardena 25, Wilmington Banning 21 -- LaFerrell Payne scored the game-winning touchdown on a 22-yard run with 26 seconds to play to give the Panthers a come-from-behind victory over host Banning in a Marine League game. Gardena (6-2, 3-0) will play Carson next week for first place in the league.

The Pilots (4-4, 2-1) scored first when Damian Satete completed a pass in the flat to Robert Garcia, who went 21 yards for the score with 3:07 left in the first half. Gardena punted on its next possession and with six seconds left in the half, the Pilots again tried a swing pass from deep in their territory and Panther Craig Batiste intercepted it and went 10 yards to make it 7-6 at the half.

Pilot halfback Patrick Perry, who led all rushers with 153 yards in 19 carries, scored two touchdowns in the third quarter on runs of 10 and 53 yards. Fred Earles, who carried the ball twice, scored on a 40-yard run to pull Gardena within eight at the end of three quarters.

-- Rafer Weigel

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Van Nuys Grant 25, North Hollywood 22 -- Israel Salas rushed 15 times for 145 yards and three touchdowns, including a 31-yarder with 2:36 left in the game, and the host Lancers (6-2, 3-0) overcame an injury to star running back Anthony Dickson for the second consecutive week in a come-from-behind Sunset Six League victory.

Dickson sustained a hip injury on his first carry, a two-yard gain, and left for good in the second quarter, when the Lancers trailed, 9-6. Jorge Puerto kicked a 20-yard field goal and Marlon Lucky scored on a 46-yard run to give North Hollywood (5-3, 1-2) a 22-13 lead with 44 seconds left in the third.

Lucky finished with 137 yards and two touchdowns in 20 carries.

-- Mayar Zokaei

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Roosevelt 14, Garfield 12 -- Manual Hertado intercepted a pass in the end zone with 3:47 left and Roosevelt ran out the clock to win the 67th East Los Angeles Classic before a crowd of approximately 25,000 at the Coliseum.

Zach Owens returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown and Jody Adewale gained 123 yards in 17 carries for Roosevelt (7-1, 3-0), which won for the third consecutive year.

Josh Magana completed 10 of 18 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns for Garfield (4-4, 2-1), including a 15-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Anguiano on the Bulldogs’ first drive of the second half.

-- Steve Galluzzo