Belief. That is what it took for Banning to win the City Section Open Division flag football championship Saturday at Crenshaw High.
The seventh-seeded Pilots rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to shut out No. 1 San Pedro in the second half, tie the game on the final play of regulation and win 18-12 in overtime.
Adelaida Ibanez-Eddy caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Alina Argueta on the Pilots’ second play of overtime to give Banning its first lead, then clinched the victory on an interception and got dog-piled by her teammates.
“The game was on the line and I just had to get it in there,” said Ibanez-Eddy, who stretched as far as she could while diving for the pylon to break the plane. “I just play my game and do what I can when I’m open. I kept it in my arms on the interception. They were trying to rip it out but I wouldn’t let them. It’s about pride … my teammates have my back and I have theirs.”
Argueta engineered a 10-play, 70-yard drive in the last two minutes of regulation, capped by her toss to Melony Bernabe as time expired to tie it 12-12. Argeuta tried to run in a one-point conversion that would have ended the game but was stopped inches short of the end zone.
It was a remarkable comeback for the Pilots (16-6), who lost three regular-season meetings with their Marine League rivals. It was another heartbreaking defeat for San Pedro (25-3-1), which was edged by Birmingham in last year’s inaugural Open Division final.
Giuliana Sutrin caught a 19-yard touchdown pass to put San Pedro on the scoreboard first, but its two-point try was deflected. Stella Malone intercepted a pass at the goal line and raced 80 yards the other way for a touchdown to double the Pirates’ lead eight seconds before halftime. It was her seventh pick-six of the season.
