Quarterback Justyn Martin stood tall in the pocket, waited for his receivers to get downfield, and then he launched the bomb, which was caught by Deontra Gent, who easily outran the defenders for a touchdown. The scoring play was around 50 yards. Photo by Jason Lewis
Randion Lovejoy was able to beat the defenders to the edge with his coach/father watching in the background. Lovejoy was able to get up the sideline for about a 30-yard gain before he was knocked out of bounds. Photo by Jason Lewis
Every year the Baldwin Hills Bruins are invited to play a halftime exhibition game at the Rose Bowl during a UCLA football game. And every year they put on a show. This year was no different.
The 7-8 year old team that showed up is a pretty special group. Last year they went 13-0 and won their Super Bowl. They are off to a fast start, as they won their first game of the season earlier that day.
But they did not use up all of their big play abilities that morning. They saved some for the UCLA and Nebraska fans.
After stopping the team from Beverly Hills, Baldwin Hills quarterback Justyn Martin connected on a long pass to Deontra Gent, who caught the ball in stride and easily outran the defense for a long touchdown. The crowd was pretty amazed that kids so young could pull off a play like that.
A few moments later Randion Lovejoy ran a sweep, and after making a couple defenders miss and getting some good blocks from his teammates, he was up the sideline. The defense was not able to force him out of bounds until he gained about 30 yards.
The kids had a great time, the Baldwin Hills cheerleaders entertained the crowd, and it was memory that will always stay with them.
“It’s a wonderful experience for them,” head coach Randy Lovejoy said. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for them. A lot of them won’t make it to this level (college football), so it was a good experience for them to get out here and show what they can do.”
