Garfield’s anticipated win

After a long and controversial week on Garfield High School’s no. 2 seeding in the 2014 CIF Los Angeles City Section High School Football Playoffs, the Bulldogs began the playoffs by hosting El Camino Real on Nov. 14. Excitement and anxiety brewed throughout the home crowd as Garfield was favored to past the Conquistadores. Both teams were silent until Garfield quarterback Stevie Williams fired up the home crowd with a  64-yard rushing touchdown, giving the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Williams, dished a 19-yard pass to wide receiver, Cleo Session Jr., giving Garfield a 14-0 lead. With two minutes to go in the second quarter, Alex Rocha kicked a 36-yard field goal, extending Garfield’s lead 17-0 at the half.

In the third quarter, running back Albert Molina rushed one yard for a touchdown. Molina was looking great on the field after suffering a minor ankle injury last week at the East Los Angeles Classic. The touchdown extended Garfield’s lead, 23-0. 

Early in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs would not let up as Cleo Session Jr. rushed seven yards for a touchdown, giving Garfield a 30-0 lead against the Conquistadores. However, the Conquistadores didn’t go down without a fight. El Camino Real’s running back Joey Word and wide receiver Kade Schmidtz ran a combined total of 11 yards.

The Garfield Bulldogs came out victorious with the final score of 30-14. The Bulldogs must now prepare for the second round as they will host the Birmingham Patriots on Friday, Nov. 21.

—Donnaldo Escobedo