Crenshaw High School will return to the CIF City Championship game after defeating the Carson Colts 41-13 on Friday. Senior wide receiver Rayshawn Williams caught four touchdown passes and one interception.
“It’s more of a team win,” Williams said. “Me and Isaiah (Johnson) have a strong relationship, we’ve been playing together since Pop Warner.”
Carson highlighted both junior Jaja Bellinger and senior Denaylan Fuimaono at the quarterback position. Fuimaono started and gained two first downs on the ground to start the game. Crenshaw soon gained possession and blew past the Colts defense.
From the Colts 32-yard line, Crenshaw quarterback Isaiah Johnson sent the ball to Williams for a touchdown. The Cougar defense was also strong, senior defensive end Daniel Grzesiak earned a sack and a pass deflection early in the second quarter.
Crenshaw edged their score up to 13 and the Colt’s offensive line returned on their 44-yard line. Carson senior Dejonte Thomas completed a 47-yard touchdown rush. Seconds before halftime, Carson senior defensive end Seleve Tuisalo’o sacked Johnson on a fourth and goal.
The halftime score was 13-7 in favor of the Cougars.
senior wide receiver James Day caught a touchdown pass and the Cougars had 20 points. Five regulated minutes later, Johnson connected with Williams again push the score up to 27 points.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, junior linebacker Kori Moe picked off one of Johnson’s passes. Senior Sulton Moala advanced the ball through rushes and ultimately ran in a touchdown.
Day caught a deep pass and Crenshaw advanced to Carson’s 15-yard line. Williams secured his final touchdown catch for the night and the score was 34-13 for Crenshaw. A pass to junior Demoni Sanchez would give the Colts a first down, but Williams intercepted their pass on the next play.
With seconds left in regulation, senior wide receiver Dennis Patrick rushed in for a score.
Crenshaw will face Narbonne High School in the Open Division City Section Championship on Friday. Dorsey High School reached the Division I Championship game and will play San Fernando at 7:00P.M. on Saturday. The Dons knocked off the second seeded South Gate 41-7, their second upset this postseason.
“For the playoffs, we have to work extra hard,” said Dorsey senior running back Cameron Simms. “We have to work hard to get what we want because we want to show the doubters that we [are] not stopping.”
For Division II, Huntington Park will battle against Cleveland at 3:00P.M. and Verdugo Hills will compete against Marshall for the Division III title at 11:00A.M. on Saturday.
