South East beats Marshall, 51-34, for City Section title

With All-City running back Robert Lewis a marked player, South East turned to junior quarterback Jonathan Santos, and he responded with five touchdown passes in the Jaguars’ 51-34 victory over Marshall in the City Section Division II championship game Friday night at East Los Angeles College.

Santos completed touchdown passes of four and 24 yards to Lewis, eight yards to Christian Quinones, 49 yards to Alex Alvarez, and 71 yards to Ramone Smith. He completed 20 of 29 passes for 317 yards. He also rushed for 135 yards in 11 carries and scored on a 31-yard run.

“Without the team, we couldn’t do none of this,” Santos said. “The first half was a little rough, but we kept playing our game. Now we’re champions.”

Lewis finished with three touchdowns, including a 36-yard interception return in the fourth quarter that helped South East (13-1) reverse a 14-13 halftime deficit.

It was the first football title for South East since the school opened in 2005. Last season, the Jaguars won a soccer title. So now they’re champions in football and futbol.

Fans got one final chance to watch Lewis, who entered with 2,004 yards rushing and has been known for his versatility. Although he rushed for only 18 yards in six carries, he had a 55-yard kickoff return.

“He’s a once-in-a-lifetime player,” Coach Derwin Henderson said.

Marshall quarterback Anthony Benitez did his best to keep his team in the game. He passed for 193 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 135 yards and one touchdown. Walter Moctezuma gained 159 yards.

Marshall took advantage of an interception in the end zone by Jonathan Mina and a fumble recovery to score two touchdowns after turnovers to take a 14-13 halftime lead. Moctezuma had a 24-yard touchdown catch, and Mina had a 10-yard TD catch.

But South East unleashed Santos in the second half. He threw three consecutive touchdowns, and Marshall went from leading, 20-19, to falling behind, 38-20.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com