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San Pedro lives off Carson mistakes in 21-14 victory Mike Terry L.A. Times Staff Writer San Pedro wouldn't mind one more home game. They have been unbeatable at home in 2006, going 8-0. But the Pirates won't mind traveling next week to the Coliseum for their final game of the season. That's where the Championship Division final will be. And that's where San Pedro will be after eliminating Carson 21-14, in one of Friday's semifinal games. The sixth-seeded Pirates (12-1) have waited 10 years to get back to a City final. Their last visit was in 1997, and San Pedro was winning the second of consecutive championships. Both of those victories came against Woodland Hills Taft. The Pirates will have to go through another Valley team to win a fifth City title. Ahead is top-seeded Birmingham, which eliminated defending champion Los Angeles Crenshaw in the other semifinal. But on Friday, San Pedro was happy to celebrate 118 yards and two touchdowns by senior J'vone Hibbler and a defense that bottled up Carson junior running back Jack Sula — only 61 yards and a touchdown in 17 carries — as well as collect two interceptions and two sacks against Carson junior quarterback Dominique Blackman. "We were very opportunistic tonight," San Pedro Coach Mike Walsh said. "And we talked about that all week. We got an opportunity, and if we don't take advantage of it, it's our fault. "You get into a game like this, and kids can worry about what can go wrong. And we talked all the time about 'don't worry what could go wrong, worry about what could go right.' " Quite a few things went wrong Friday night for seventh-seeded Carson (9-4). Although the Colts only lost by a touchdown — and, ironically, by the same score of the Oct. 27 Marine League contest between the teams — Carson can look back on several misfires that could have made a difference. A 12-yard punt midway through the second quarter gave San Pedro great field position at the Colts' 32-yard line. And the Pirates — specifically Hibbler — capitalized immediately. The stocky running back broke free around the left side of the Carson line and outran two Colts defenders to the end zone. With 6:38 left in the half, San Pedro led, 7-0. Carson's offense struggled to dent the Pirates defense in the first half. But things clicked for the Colts in the final 1:29. Starting at his own 48, Blackman used two big pass plays — a 25-yard completion to Sula and a 24-yarder to Marquis Williams — to reach the Pirates' one-yard line. Blackman took it from there, tumbling into the end zone on a one-yard run to help tie the score, 7-7, at the half. On Carson's first possession of the second half, Blackman had a pass intercepted by San Pedro's Ahmad Wood, who returned it 60 yards to the Colts' 19. Pirates quarterback Jason Garneau completed only one pass Friday, but it was a 13-yard touchdown strike to Marcelez Brooks to put San Pedro back up, 14-7. Near the end of the third quarter, Carson drove down to the San Pedro four-yard line, only to lose 10 yards on a bad pitch by Blackman to Sula. A 31-yard field-goal attempt was no good. In the fourth quarter, Hibbler struck again, this time bursting through the Carson defense for a 35-yard touchdown scamper, and San Pedro had it's necessary breathing room with 4:48 to play. "We caught them [in the wrong defense]," said Hibbler, talking about the second score. "They had been doing certain things in the first half, and we made the right adjustment." Carson got a break when it forced Brooks to fumble at the San Pedro 10 and recovered it on the Pirates' three. Sula plowed into the end zone to make the score 21-14 with 3:14 remaining. The Colts would need to stop San Pedro one more time for a chance to tie the score or win. But with fourth and three from the San Pedro 38, and the Pirates in punt formation, Carson made its last critical mistake, getting flagged for too many men on the field. It gave San Pedro a first down with 1:43 left to play and the Pirates ran out the clock. Blackman, who completed 10 of 22 passes for 177 yards, tried to take total responsibility for the loss. "I feel I didn't show up," Blackman said. "As the quarterback you have to step up in big games, and I didn't do it." But Carson Coach Mike Christensen saw enough blame to go around. "We didn't play well enough to go to a championship game. It's that simple," Christensen said. "We had opportunities and didn't take advantage of them. "They've lived off other team's mistakes all year, and they did it again tonight. But we should have been better prepared and that comes back to me." |
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