Belief. That is what it took for Banning to win the City Section Open Division flag football championship Saturday at Crenshaw High.
The seventh-seeded Pilots rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to shut out No. 1 San Pedro in the second half, tie the game on the final play of regulation and win 18-12 in overtime.
Adelaida Ibanez-Eddy caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Alina Argueta on the Pilots’ second play of overtime to give Banning its first lead, then clinched the victory on an interception and got dog-piled by her teammates.
“The game was on the line and I just had to get it in there,” said Ibanez-Eddy, who stretched as far as she could while diving for the pylon to break the plane. “I just play my game and do what I can when I’m open. I kept it in my arms on the interception. They were trying to rip it out but I wouldn’t let them. It’s about pride ... my teammates have my back and I have theirs.”
Argueta engineered a 10-play, 70-yard drive in the last two minutes of regulation, capped by her toss to Melony Bernabe as time expired to tie it 12-12. Argeuta tried to run in a one-point conversion that would have ended the game but was stopped inches short of the end zone.
It was a remarkable comeback for the Pilots (16-6), who lost three regular-season meetings with their Marine League rivals. It was another heartbreaking defeat for San Pedro (25-3-1), which was edged by Birmingham in last year’s inaugural Open Division final.
Giuliana Sutrin caught a 19-yard touchdown pass to put San Pedro on the scoreboard first, but its two-point try was deflected. Stella Malone intercepted a pass at the goal line and raced 80 yards the other way for a touchdown to double the Pirates’ lead eight seconds before halftime. It was her seventh pick-six of the season.
Cheyenne Bennett caught a two-yard touchdown pass from Shayla Rivera and Faith Ugoje added the one-point grab with 46 seconds left in the first half. That proved to be all the offense Narbonne needed in a 7-0 championship shutout of King/Drew.
A pass-interference penalty in the final seconds gave the upstart Golden Eagles (18-14) an untimed down at the five-yard line. Quarterback Dior Edwards then lobbed a throw to A’nia Passmore for an apparent touchdown, but Edwards was called for an illegal forward pass, ending the game.
“I’m super excited for my team — we did amazing on offense and defense,” said Rivera, who shook off two early interceptions to lead the No. 2 Gauchos (17-9) past 13th-seeded King/Drew, which upset No. 1 Jefferson in the semifinals.
Amaya Perry scored the first touchdown, knocked away a potential game-tying pass at the goal line and made a key interception in the second half to lead No. 1 El Camino Real to a 26-0 championship triumph over No. 3 Cleveland — its third win against its West Valley League rival this season.
Victoria Brown caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from Talya Haim to make it 12-0 and Aniya Spencer tacked on two late touchdowns for the Royals (10-5) — one on a 10-yard catch and the other on a 45-yard run.
Cindy Martinez had an interception for the Cavaliers (8-12).
“I’m more of a fan of offense because it directly impacts the score, but I like defense also,” said Perry, a senior two-way player who earned her second CIF title, having won an Open Division title with the softball team as a freshman. “This is our first flag team. My dad’s a huge football fan, my younger brother plays football and all my male cousins play football, so I felt left out. It’s as fun as softball.”
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