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Speed kills City in L.A. Fiesta Bowl


By RON GUILD, Sports Editor 03.JUL.08

As the City Section discovered in the L.A. Fiesta Bowl All-Star Football

Game Saturday, speed kills. So do turnovers.


Plagued by its own mistakes, many caused by the opposition, the City dropped a 45-21 decision to the Southern Section in the contest at L.A. Wilson High School.

What was a tightly-played, 21-21 first half turned into a rout in the second half by the Southern, which finally put the game on ice with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown by Muir’s Marcus Thompson with 1:24 left in the third quarter.

The City, down at the nine-yard line and threatening to cut into a 31-21 deficit, suddenly found itself down by 17 when Thompson stepped in front of a receiver to pick off a pass from Wilson’s Steven Batista and return it the length of the field.

Midway through the final period, Thompson, the Southern MVP, returned a Batista fumble to the 12, setting up a 14-yard scoring run by Muir’s Willie Youngblood two plays later.

Roosevelt’s Javier Cid, part of the City coaching staff, noticed the difference in the two teams.

“Our (City) kids are tough, but they didn’t match up athletically,” he said. “I was real impressed with everybody on their side. They capitalized on our turnovers.”

Turnovers, including three interceptions, helped turn the contest.

Batista, the City’s second-leading passer last fall, completed 17 of 40 for 239 yards and three touchdowns, but the interceptions were killers.

Muir’s Austin Daniels picked off a pass in the first quarter, leading to a 23-yard scoring pass from Arroyo’s Brian Partida (10 of 14 for 193 yards) to Blair’s Devin Fuller.

Schurr’s Jonathan Palomino intercepted a pass in the third period, leading to a go-ahead 41-yard field goal by Diego Delgadillo of Bell Gardens.

Fumble recoveries also led to a pair of scoring runs by Youngblood and one by Pasadena quarterback Tyron Crockom.

The City offense was clicking in the first half as Batista had scoring strikes of eight yards to Bryan Munoz of South East, 27 yards to Patrick Donahue of Franklin and five yards to Art Hernandez of Roosevelt.

Both teams rushed for 91 yards with Youngblood’s 47 yards on five carries leading the way. Batista (seven for 33), Huntington Park’s Eric Cartegna (five for 27) and Roosevelt’s Jonathan Torres (five for 22) paced the City’s rushing attack.

From a fan’s standpoint, it was an entertaining contest.

“It was a fun game with a lot of big plays,” Cid said.