LAKE BALBOA — Antrell Harris backflipped into his ceremonial Senior Night carpet walk with the same ease that the Birmingham Patriots waltzed through the West Valley League.
The Patriots (5-4 overall, 5-0 WVL) won their eighth consecutive league title with a 52-0 rout of Granada Hills (3-7, 2-3) on Friday night at Birmingham. The Patriots haven’t dropped a league game since Oct. 13, 2017 and haven’t lost to the Highlanders since Oct. 11, 2013.
Ho-hum dominance. Impressive, but head coach James Rose has bigger plans.
“Our main goals are to get back and play for a (City Section) title again,” Rose said.
Last season, the Patriots defeated Garfield, 49-7, to win the L.A. City Section Open Division championship. The personnel might look different this time around. The game plan, not so much. To compete in the playoffs, Rose says, the Patriots will lean on their running game.
If Friday’s performance is predictive, then the ceiling for postseason success is high as the Patriots totaled more than 300 yards on the ground. Dredon Fowles ran for 161 yards and three touchdowns, and quarterback Kevin Hawkins scrambled for 64 yards and a score of his own. Sophomore Braylen Morgan added 76 yards and a touchdown.
Fowles broke off runs of 24 and 17 yards before capping the opening drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. He scored again on the following drive. His longest run was his last one: A 45-yard touchdown on a halfback draw. The Patriots’ coaching staff was so confident the play would go for a touchdown, their offensive coordinator could be heard saying, “G.G’s,” (an abbreviation for good game) when he saw the Highlanders’ pre-snap formation.
“Probably the best athlete on the field,” Hawkins said of Fowles.
Hawkins has an argument for that himself. He stands at 6-foot-5 with the build of a middle linebacker, easily outrunning those who do play that position.
In the second quarter, Hawkins’ 37-yard scramble set up a touchdown run by Eddie Plaza two plays later. He could do that on most snaps in league play, if he wanted to. Well, he might want to, so check that. If Rose and his staff wanted him to. But where does that get them, when Hawkins continues to struggle with his accuracy?
“I could probably scan the field more,” Hawkins said, “trust myself more. Trust my receivers more.”
Related Articles
Burbank football is led by Elijah Pendleton in win over Burroughs
High school football: Top photos from Friday’s biggest games, Nov. 1
High school football: Live updates from Friday night’s top league title games
High school football: Scores from Thursday’s Week 10 games
Simi Valley football ready to ‘play against the best’ in Oaks Christian game
He completed four of his 10 pass attempts for 108 yards. Hawkins’ issue isn’t with arm strength, rather he aims the ball instead trusting himself to sling it. He missed Harris on three separate surefire touchdowns.
Rose says he’s seen some improvement from Hawkins. That was evident in the third quarter when he strung together a pair of completions. The first came on a scramble drill as he awkwardly flipped the ball to Fowles, who ran for 34 yards after the catch. Then, on the following play, he hit Plaza on a slant for a 14-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
“You still gotta be able to throw a little bit,” Rose said about finding success in the playoffs. “You gotta be able to keep teams honest. That opens up the running game.”
The Patriots had five drives of four plays or less, each of which ended in points. The Highlanders gained just four first downs all night. It was as sound a performance from this Birmingham bunch and it gives the Patriots momentum as they prepare for another postseason run.