San Pedro Perseveres

The Pirates rally from a 14-point deficit to upend Marine League rival Carson, 21-14, for their second big comeback victory this season. Top seed in the L.A. City Section playoffs appears attainable.

By Tony Ciniglio
Daily Breeze

When San Pedro found itself facing a 14-point deficit against Carson, the Pirates did not panic.

Instead, San Pedro persevered for a stirring 21-14 comeback victory over Carson in a showdown between the Marine League's top two teams Friday night in San Pedro.

"God bless our kids, they don't ever give up," San Pedro coach Mike Walsh said. "I didn't see panic from them. The only thing I saw was anger. They knew that Carson was not that much better than them.

"We've been down before. They knew how to come back."

It was the second time this season that San Pedro overcame a 14-point lead as the Pirates erased a 14-0 first-half deficit to beat Peninsula.

This time, J'Vone Hibbler scored two second-half touchdowns for San Pedro (8-0, 3-0), and the Pirates' offensive line wore down mistake-prone Carson (5-3, 2-1) in the second half to take control of the Marine League race.

"When push comes to shove, we pancake," San Pedro center Eddie Salceda said. "That's what San Pedro is all about, wearing down opponents in the second half."

Carson nearly rallied with a strong two-minute offense in the final 1:31 behind quarterback Dominique Blackman, who drove the Colts from their own 10-yard line to the San Pedro 42.

But after Blackman misfired on three straight passes, Carson faced a fourth-and-15 situation with 32 seconds left.

Blackman threw a pass short of receiver Ken McRoyal, and the officials ruled he trapped it, setting off a wild celebration for San Pedro.

"We've got to finish, and we didn't quite finish today," Carson coach Mike Christensen said.

Carson also had its share of mistakes.

After Carson stopped San Pedro on the opening possession of the third quarter, Carson's Marquis Williams fumbled on a punt return, giving San Pedro new life at the Carson 32.

Six plays later, Hibbler punched in a 3-yard rushing touchdown.

Carson's Juan Sanchez also missed a 39-yard field goal with 8:00 left in the fourth quarter.

Then there were the penalties.

Carson also had eight penalties for 70 yards -- including a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty that set up Hibbler's second touchdown and a late hit that gave San Pedro an extra three minutes of possession late in the fourth quarter.

"We didn't play well enough to win tonight," Christensen said. "We made a lot of mistakes, but give them credit for creating a lot of those mistakes.

"We'll be fine though. The big prize is still ahead for us."

San Pedro's mistakes forced the Pirates into an early hole.

Carson's Steve Boyd picked off quarterback Jason Garneau's first throw of the game and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.

Blackman added a 1-yard scoring run with 10:47 left in the first half, giving Carson a 14-0 lead.

"No deficit rattles our cages. There was no time to hang our heads. We had to get up and go," Salceda said.

San Pedro chipped into the deficit with a 2-yard scoring run by Marceliz Brooks with 6:45 left in the first half.

Then Hibbler brought San Pedro back with a 3-yard scoring run with 6:52 left in the third quarter and an 18-yard scoring run with 3:05 left in the quarter.

"It happened so fast, but I knew that was the turning point. I knew we were going to pull this out after that," Hibbler said. "We never gave up. It was persistence, persistence, persistence."

San Pedro hammered on Carson behind its three-headed rushing monster of Joseph Chavez (98 yards, 12 carries), Hibbler (79 yards, 16 carries) and Brooks (62 yards, 11 carries).

San Pedro relied on its experience in its comeback victory over Peninsula and knew it was capable of another.

"Even after that interception, we were like, 'Don't sweat it.' We've come back before," said Garrett White, who had two sacks. "Everyone stepped up. There is a lot of energy. This is big, bigger than beating Peninsula and bigger than last year's championship."

San Pedro limited Carson running back Jack Sula to 67 yards on 18 carries. Blackman threw for only 125 yards on 12-for-23 passing.

San Pedro also took pride in wearing down Carson.

"That's just smashmouth football. That's the Pedro mentality," said defensive lineman Enrique Ramirez, who appeared to be fully recovered from a hamstring injury.

"Carson is a good team, and they were big, so right off the bat we knew it was not going to be an easy fight. But to wear down a team like Carson is special.

"This is a stepping stone to becoming a greater team. It's big. The community feels it too, they feel that 8-0 energy."

Even with an electric atmosphere after the game, Walsh expressed caution when asked if this was a big victory.

"Only if we win our next two," he said.

Then Walsh was asked whether this sealed the No. 1 seed in the L.A. City Section playoffs.

If we win our last two games, how can they deny us?" Walsh asked.