Early Defense, Late Touchdowns Lift Sylmar Past Crenshaw, 28-2

Sylmar High has a point to make.

The Spartans are trying to prove to their skeptics that San Fernando Valley football is played every bit as tough as it is at schools famous for fierce play, schools such as Carson, Banning and Dorsey.

Crenshaw, last year’s City Section 3-A Division champion, found out Wednesday night how serious Sylmar is about driving home its point.

Sylmar’s defense had to wait three quarters for the offense to catch up, but when it did the Spartans dominated. Sylmar scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and beat Crenshaw, 28-2, in 4-A quarterfinal at Sylmar.

Top-seeded Sylmar (11-0) will face Garfield next week. Crenshaw finished 6-5-1.

The Spartans’ powerful running game was nowhere to be found in the first three quarters, managing only 63 yards.

Nursing a precarious 7-2 lead after three quarters, Sylmar came to life offensively.

Starting from their own 10, the Spartans marched 90 yards in eight plays and scored on a two-yard quarterback keeper by Deon Price for a 14-2 lead. A 38-yard pass from Price to Dwight Patton and a 23-yard run by junior tailback Tyrone Crenshaw kept the drive alive.

Senior fullback Ibn Bilal scored on each of Sylmar’s next two possessions, on nifty runs of 16 and 41 yards that gave the Spartans a comfortable 28-2 lead.

“I knew I was going to break (loose),” Bilal said. “It was only a matter of time.”

The first three quarters were a defiant defensive standoff. Crenshaw had gained only 37 yards by halftime.

Sylmar had managed only 69 but held a 7-0 lead.

Both teams stalled on opening possessions while trying to convert on fourth downs. After Crenshaw’s opening drive, Sylmar took over at Crenshaw’s 47 and drove to the five, most of the yardage coming on a 23-yard run by Crenshaw.

But Sylmar turned the ball over on downs when Bilal was tackled for a three-yard loss on fourth and goal at the five.

Two plays later, Crenshaw’s Saeed Akman fumbled and Berek Lanier recovered on the Crenshaw 13.

It took three plays, but Sylmar got into the end zone on a broken-play scramble by Price for a 7-0 lead.

Crenshaw, the Sylmar player, finished with 89 yards in 18 carries. Bilal added 80 yards in 11 carries.