By Joe Snyder
After Hamilton High’s football team took a 26-22 lead when D.J. Parker returned a short punt 46 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:19 left in the game, quarterback Kevin Martinez and the Gardena High football team did not let down.
Led by Martinez, the Panthers used the 1:15 drill by quickly driving 72 yards before Martinez, under heavy pressure, was able to throw a 19-yard TD pass to receiver Asani Bell for the winning touchdown as Gardena pulled off a 30-26 first round victory of the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division I playoffs over the Yankees.
The sophomore Bell was able to make a spectacular catch in the end zone to give the Panthers a 28-26 lead and Martinez ran the ball into the end zone for the two-point conversion.
“We won this game as a team,” Martinez said. “Everybody thought that Hamilton would stumble over us.”
The Panthers, who are now 4-6 overall after going 2-2 in the Marine League for a third-place finish behind champion Carson and runner-up San Pedro, entered the contest as the No. 7 seed in the division as Hamilton, the third-place team from the Western League, was 10th.
The Yankees, who ended their season at 6-5, took a 7-0 lead on a 23-yard scoring pass from freshman quarterback Thaddeus II Breaux to junior wide receiver Jacob Riley. Riley also made his first of two points after touchdown.
Gardena fought back to cut Hamilton’s lead to 7-6 on a 15-yard touchdown run by Hassan Williams. The two-point conversion run by running back Tashir Richardson fell short.
The Yankees came back and stretched their lead to 13-6 on a second TD pass from Breaux to Riley from seven yards out with 4:55 remaining before halftime. Hamilton continued to lead by that score at halftime.
The Panthers bounced back to grab a 14-13 edge with 4:02 to go in the third quarter on a 10-yard pass from Martinez to wide receiver Braylon Williams. Martinez, then threw a two-point conversion pass to wide receiver Hassan Williams.
In the continued see-saw battle, the Yankees took a 19-14 lead on Breaux’s 7-yard TD pass to wide receiver Miles Nico-Manilay with eight seconds remaining in the third period.
Gardena took a 22-19 advantage with 7:59 left in the game on a 2-yard scoring run by Marinez, followed by a two-point conversion pass from sophomore reserve quarterback Cecilo James to Williams.
The Panthers were looking to chew up the clock. On a fourth-down-and-six at their own 38-yard line, a punt went just eight yards as Parker found open space and sprinted to give Hamilton a four-point lead, before a series of passes by Martinez enabled Gardena to pull out the game on his scoring pass to Bell with 3.9 seconds remaining.
On the kickoff, the Yankees needed a return for a touchdown but Gardena’s defense was able to hold them off.
“Martinez has been spectacular,” Gardena head coach Terrence Sullivan said. “He can make plays with his legs and arms. Bell is only a sophomore. He’s going to be great.”
The win moves the Panthers to the quarterfinals where they visit No. 2 seed South Gate Friday at 7 p.m. The Rams advanced by rolling over Lincoln High from East L.A. 47-21.
North gets nudged out of playoffs
North Torrance High’s football came off winning three consecutive Pioneer League championships before having it end by cross town rival Torrance, and having league losses to Santa Monica and Redondo to settle for a fourth-place finish and an at-large berth in the CIF-Southern Section Division VII playoffs.
It has been a while since the Saxons made it past the first round of the playoffs but things looked good after they rallied from a 14-0 deficit against No. 3 seed and host Apple Valley last Friday. North scored 20 unanswered points to grab a 20-14 third quarter lead on a 34-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ethan Edwards to wide receiver Eric Dandridge with less than a minute left.
The Saxons, however, were unable to get any fourth-quarter scoring as Apple Valley got a TD from running back Nathan Arceo on a 3-yard run followed by a point-after-touchdown from kicker Issac Sanchez with approximately two minutes remaining and North’s season ended with a 21-20 loss.
Apple Valley took a 14-0 lead after the first period behind touchdowns from Davion Sioan-Satterwhite (29-yard pass from quarterback Brent Lanning) and Jewelein Washington (13-yard run), but North cut Apple Valley’s lead to 14-6 in the second quarter on a 25-yard TD pass from Edwards to wide receiver King Shelton with about a minute before halftime. The point-after-touchdown attempt failed.
The Saxons got to within two points in the third period on a 3-yard scoring run by Edwards. Their attempt to tie the game fell short as their two-point conversion attempt failed.
North finally took the lead with seconds to go in the third quarter on the pass from Edwards to Dandridge and Edwards ran in the two-point conversion for a 20-14 lead.
The Saxons ended their season at 6-5.
It is the fourth consecutive time that North was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Last season, the Saxons were shut out by a premiere Edison High team 24-0 in the tough CIF-Southern Section Division III playoffs. The Chargers went on to win the Southern Section Division III and CIF-State Division IAA crowns. North fell in overtime to Covina Charter Oak in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division VIII playoffs in 2023 and lost in the first round a year earlier.
Redondo gets revenge in win over Torrance
Torrance High’s football team entered the CIF-Southern Section Division V playoffs as the top seed but had its work cut out in hosting Pioneer League foe Redondo last Friday at Zamperini Field.
In their league opener on Oct. 3 at Redondo, the Tartars, who won the Pioneer crown and finished 10-0 in the regular season, came from behind to defeat the Sea Hawks, who were second in Pioneer action at 4-1, 34-24. Also in that game, Redondo just welcomed star all-around player Bo Ausmus and a few other transfers and other players out due to injuries. Ausmus, a returning all-CIF Southern Section wide receiver last season, only saw limited action but he came through in the next four league games with nine touchdowns and he added two more last Friday.
Redondo was able to bounce back for a 21-14 first-round victory.
Things, though, looked like Torrance would get another victory over the Sea Hawks, who improved to 7-4 overall.
The Tartars, who finished their season at 10-1, scored on just the second play of the game on a 57-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Gibson Turner to wide receiver Elias Emerson.
It looked like Torrance would bring its advantage up to two TDs as it drove to the Redondo 16-yard line midway in the first quarter. That is when Ausmus stepped in and had his first of two interceptions and ran the ball to midfield. The Sea Hawks took advantage of that and tied the game at seven on a 21-yard scoring pass from quarterback Cole Leinart to wide receiver Tyler Harper. Redondo went on to grab a 14-7 lead when Ausmus scored on a 66-yard run with 3:07 left before halftime.
In the second half, the Tartars switched to a running game and, for a while, it worked. Behind the running of Vaughn Reinart, who scored all four touchdowns in Torrance’s 28-21 victory over cross town rival North Torrance in their Pioneer finale on Oct. 30 at Torrance, the Tartars tied the game at 14 on a 16-yard TD pass from Gibson to Emerson.
The Sea Hawks came back and scored the winning touchdown in the fourth period on a 12-yard pass from Leinart to Ausmus. It was set up by a 52-yard pass from Leinart to Harper.
Torrance attempted its rally by driving 51 yards from to the Redondo 25 before Ausmus had his second interception off Gibson.
The win moved the Sea Hawks to the quarterfinals where they host St. Paul High from Santa Fe Springs Friday at 7 p.m. The Swordsmen advanced with a 38-19 home victory over Etiwanda.
El Camino College’s football team finished in second place after being routed by host Saddleback College 49-7 in their National Southern Conference finale last Saturday in Mission Viejo. The Gauchos won the conference crown.
The Warriors (8-2 overall and 6-1 in conference), though, begin the Southern California Regional playoffs where they visit Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut Saturday at 6 p.m. It is the second consecutive time that ECC visits the Mounties. Last season, El Camino, which captured the National Northern Conference title, lost to Mt. SAC 48-24 after once leading 17-7 in the first quarter in the regional semifinals. The Warriors also lost a non-conference game to the host Mounties 37-27 on Sept. 27.
Boys’ basketball season begins next week for Gardena, North Torrance, and Serra.
The Panthers open their season at home against Sherman Oaks Center of Enriched Studies next Monday at 4 p.m. North begins at home on Monday against Eastside High from Lancaster Monday at 6:30 p.m. The Saxons visit Narbonne in Harbor City next Wednesday at the same time before a crucial contest at Westchester, the team that current North assistant coach Ed Azzam head coached at for 42 seasons, on Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. Serra will play in the Condor Madness Basketball Tournament at California High in Whittier as they face the host and defending CIF-Southern Section Division IVAA champion Condors next Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. Serra takes on CIF-Los Angeles City Section school Washington High on Wednesday. The classic runs through Nov. 22.
