San Fernando claims first City Section football | College News
Junior cornerback Ayden Celis recovered a fumble at San Fernando’s 22-yard line with 1:27 remaining and the second-seeded Tigers held on to beat No. 1-seeded Cleveland 21-14 at Birmingham High.
It was the ninth City title for San Fernando (11-3) and its first since 2017.
Melvin Pineda plowed into the end zone on fourth and purpose from the one-yard line to end San Fernando’s first drive and, after teammate Brandan Marshall recovered a fumble at the Tigers’ 46, Pineda capped the following possession with another one-yard landing, his sixth of the playoffs, to make it 14-0.
Cleveland marched to San Fernando’s eight-yard line late in the second quarter but a 25-yard field-goal attempt by Samael Cerritos hit the left upright.
Oluwafemi Okeola intercepted an overthrown go at the San Fernando 46 early in the third quarter and 9 performs later quarterback Domenik Fuentes scored on a three-yard keeper to pull the top-seeded Cavaliers within eight.
Three runs by Brandon Maldonado gained 37 yards to set up Fuentes’ one-yard plunge and a two-point conversion run by Joseph Hurtado that tied the rating, 14-14, with 9:33 left.
San Fernando responded with a 75-yard drive, regaining the lead on a two-yard run by Andrew Newchurch, his sixteenth landing of the season, and a clutch additional level by Isaac Ortega with 4:36 remaining in the sport.
“It was probably my last [high school] football game and we got the win,” Newchurch said. “The play was overload left and it was wide open. We’re proud to add to the school legacy — we hadn’t won City in a long time.”
The Tigers misplaced to eventual-champion Chatsworth in the first spherical of the Division II playoffs last season.
Cleveland (5-9) was looking for its first City title.
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