San Fernando scores late to win second consecutive City Division II title
San Fernando came away with a 14-0 season and a second consecutive City Section Division II championship by rallying for 34-32 victory over South Gate on Friday night at East Los Angeles College.
South Gate (9-5) was in position to pull off the upset, holding a four-point lead and driving for a possible clinching touchdown, but a botched handoff with 3:46 left gave the Tigers the ball on their own 14-yard line.
Quarterback Cristian Solano put together an 86-yard, six-play drive, with freshman Alex Gonzalez scoring on a seven-yard with with 2:02 left for the victory.
“They didn’t give up on me like I didn’t give up on them,” Solano said of the Tigers, who gave up 18 consecutive second-half points after leading, 28-14, at halftime.
Solano completed 18 of 26 passes for 284 yards and one touchdown and ran for another. Charles Bell had an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown as well as an 18-yard scoring catch.
Lavell Thompson of South Gate rushed for 127 yards and scored two touchdowns.
Solano, who has committed to Nevada, finished the season with 4,154 yards passing and accounted for 66 touchdowns.
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