Bulldogs stand strong in loss

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Very few of the Big School-Small School nonleague contests have been competitive. And I honestly didn’t expect Friday’s game between Garfield and San Pedro to be one of them -- even though I feel Garfield is good enough to win the Eastern League and get back to the Invitational Division title game.

But the fight the Bulldogs put up against the Pirates was impressive. Unbeaten San Pedro (3-0), the Championship Division runner-up last year, had outscored its first two opponents, 60-27. But it was tied with Garfield (3-1) until scoring in the final 55 seconds to win, 14-7. All told, the Pirates managed only 197 yards of offense against the Bulldogs.

‘I had no doubt we would come to play,’ Garfield Coach Lorenzo Hernandez said. ‘Our league has been questioned before, that we wouldn’t play anybody. Our philosophy is, we want the opportunity to play anybody.’

Garfield will start league play next week against vastly improved South East. Huntington Park, Jordan and surprising Roosevelt are other legitmate contenders for a playoff berth. But efforts like the one the Bulldogs had against San Pedro are a reason Hernandez is feeling confident.

That, plus the fact Garfield is still highly motivated by last December’s loss to Eagle Rock in the Invitational Division final. But Hernandez takes pains to separate motivation from obsession.

‘That game was difficult to get over,’ Hernandez said. ‘But we have to put it behind us and use the experience. Otherwise it will eat you alive and you’ll never move on.

‘But it is a great motivation. The team sees it can get back there, but there’s a level of hard work that must be maintained. And I think they are working even harder this year.’

- Mike Terry