City Section

CITY SECTION PLAYOFFS

Wednesday, Nov. 26

Quarterfinals

CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION

Carson 27, Grant 24
Van Nuys Grant’s Moises Gomez missed a 34-yard field goal with 3:39 left, then Carson gained two first downs to run out the clock and preserve the quarterfinal victory at Carson High.

Robert Miller carried 22 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns, including a one-yard plunge that gave the third-seeded Colts (9-3) a 27-17 lead with 8:31 left.

Anthony Dickson, who rushed for 246 yards and four touchdowns in Grant’s first-round victory over Fairfax, gained only 42 yards in 14 carries but scored on a 72-yard swing pass in the third quarter. Dashawn Smith completed eight of 16 passes for 206 yards and rushed for two touchdowns and Gomez kicked a 34-yard field goal for sixth-seeded Grant (8-4).

Carson moved the ball at will in the first half. However, the Colts lost two fumbles deep in Grant territory and had two touchdown runs nullified by penalties.

Grant punted on four of six first-half possessions.

Miller opened the scoring with a 40-yard run on the final play of the first quarter and Jordan Fata caught two touchdown passes, the first for 20 yards from Bo Napoleon that gave the Colts a 14-0 lead late in the second quarter. Carson defensive back Chet Sanders intercepted his seventh pass in seven games in the first quarter.

Sixth-seeded Grant drove 76 yards in nine plays and scored on Smith’s one-yard sneak to pull to within 14-7 with 15 seconds left in the first half. Dickson set up the touchdown by gaining 51 yards on a swing pass.
--Steve Galluzzo

Dorsey 33, Granada Hills 15
Jeremiah Johnson and Stafon Johnson give Los Angeles Dorsey arguably the best one-two backfield punch in the Southland and it was a matter of time before both knocked out Granada Hills.

The pair combined for 311 yards and four second-half touchdowns in leading the Dons to a victory at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

Second-seeded Dorsey (12-0), which will play Carson in the semifinals, kept its hopes for an undefeated season alive with a dominating second half powered by its talented running backs. Stafon Johnson ran for 156 yards and two touchdowns and Jeremiah Johnson was right behind with 155 yards and two scores.

“Our offensive line did the job for us in the second half,” said Jeremiah Johnson, whose 19-yard touchdown run gave the Dons the lead for good in the third quarter.

Stafon Johnson kept it rolling on the next possession when he bolted around the left side for a 25-yard score for a 21-9 lead.

“We just told our offensive line to get some creases for us and [the tailbacks] will make plays for us,” Dorsey Coach Paul Knox said. “We just needed to give our backs a chance to win the game.”

Dorsey scored all of its points after halftime. The Dons started their rally early in the third when Donald Prince connected with Albert Russell on a 29-yard scoring pass.

Granada Hills (9-3) played a brilliant first half but it fell apart in the third. After Russell’s touchdown, a bad snap put the Highlanders in bad field position and a 10-yard punt by Ricardo Salcedo gave Dorsey the ball at the Granada 19-yard line.

Two plays later, Jeremiah Johnson sped around the right side to give the Dons the lead.

On its opening possession, Brandon Charls (22 of 39, 261 yards) completed passes of 27 yards to Toby Bos-Cruz and 29 yards to Keith Brown. Granada Hills got three points out of the drive on Jackie Kecskes’ 31-yard field goal.

The Highlanders would push their lead to 9-0 on a two-yard run by Charls but Kecskes’ extra-point try was blocked.
--Eric Stephens

Sylmar 27, Narbonne 24 (2 OTs)
Terry Newsome, poet and quarterback for Sylmar High’s football team, will have to work extra hard to compose a verse to describe the drama and excitement of his team’s double-overtime victory over Harbor City Narbonne.

Newsome’s eight-yard touchdown pass to Joe Dickson ended the game and earned Sylmar (9-2-1) a spot in next Friday’s semifinal against unbeaten Venice.

Newsome rallied the Spartans from a 7-0 halftime deficit, throwing three touchdown passes, scoring a touchdown and rushing for 90 yards.

“I had to be a leader,” Newsome said. “Quarterbacks don’t get hyped up. Quarterbacks stay calm.”

It was difficult to stay calm during a wild fourth quarter. Narbonne (6-6), trailing, 14-7, got back into the game when sophomore linebacker Major Culbert blindsided Newsome, knocked the ball loose and Anthony Buckner recovered on the Sylmar 22. Culbert scored on an 11-yard run to tie the score with 5:12 left.

Narbonne had a chance to win the game on the final play of regulation, but sophomore kicker Oscar De Alba was barely short on a 52-yard field-goal attempt.

On the first play of overtime, with the ball placed at the 10 and Sylmar having four plays to score, Newsome threw a touchdown pass to Chris Green. Narbonne, facing a fourth down from the six, tied the game on Thomas Allen’s six-yard touchdown pass to Lamont Long. It was Narbonne’s first and only pass completion in two playoff games.

In the second overtime, the Gauchos settled for a 22-yard field goal by De Alba. Then Newsome launched Sylmar’s victory celebration by lofting his game-winning pass to Dickson in the right corner of the end zone.

“He’s special,” Coach Jeff Engilman said of Newsome, a 5-foot-11 junior. “He makes things happen.”

As for an appropriate poetic ending, Newsome said, “I’ll make sure I write one.”
--Eric Sondheimer

Venice 53, Crenshaw 0
Quarterback Beau Davis completed three touchdown passes to James Lewis in the first 14 minutes as the top-seeded Gondoliers (12-0) routed the visiting Cougars to advance to the semifinals for a second consecutive season.

Davis completed 12 of 18 passes for 337 yards and five touchdowns, including two to receiver Ryan Graves. Lewis, who finished with four receptions for 175 yards, scored on catches of 59, 36 and 73 yards to give Venice a 19-0 lead with 10:11 left in the second quarter.

“Somebody would have a hard time beating them [in the next round] if they play like they did tonight,” Los Angeles Crenshaw Coach Robert Garrett said.

Running back Byron Ellis added two three-yard touchdown runs for the Gondoliers, who led, 26-0, at halftime and limited the Cougars (9-3) to 209 yards of offense for the game.

“We definitely are surprised and pleased [by the margin of victory],” Venice Coach Angelo Gasca said. “We have a great group of skill players, and there’s no doubt they can score from any point on the field at any time.”

Aaron Huntley had 61 yards in 12 carries for Crenshaw, which reached Venice territory only three times and didn’t reach the red zone until its last drive of the game.
--Ben Bolch

INVITATIONAL DIVISION

Fremont 34, Roosevelt 0
Andrew Bouvay scored on a 23-yard run and a 17-yard reception to lead host Fremont (8-3-1).

El Camino Real 40, South Gate 21
Canoga Park 18, Franklin 13
Locke 22, L.A. University 7

Semifinals, Friday, December 5

CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION

Sylmar (9-2-1) at Venice (12-0); Carson (9-3) at Dorsey (12-0).

INVITATIONAL DIVISION

El Camino Real (8-4) at Fremont (8-3-1); Canoga Park (8-4) at Locke (4-8)

Note: Championships, December 12 at L.A. Memorial Coliseum.