East Coach Jim Arnold must have had a heck of a rallying cry at halftime, because the East squad came out on fire and ready to take over.

The East struck first at 3:37 left in the 3rd quarter, when Arnold leaned on a familiar player in Cal High's TB TJ Jones as he scored around right end behind some great blocking up front. Then, with the score now 13-12 Coach Arnold went for two, and it was again TJ Jones who converted and gave the East a 15-12 lead with 3:37 left in the third.  Both teams started to get a little choppy at this point, however no one was ejected.

The game became a defensive struggle until 5:11 left in the 4th when QB Steven Cervantes (DOWNEY), struck, and found a wide open receiver in the back of the end zone. Momentum seemed to be swinging the West squad's way, until a critical 3rd and 4 play when Alex Gonzales (WHITTIER) looked to be stopped a yard short; but LB Prince Fuiamano (LB JORDAN) knocked him past the sticks and gave the East a first down. On the next play, QB Leachman found a streaking Travon Payne (ARTESIA) down the home sideline as he found his way to the end zone.

With the score 22-19 with 3:39 left in the game, the West squad crumbled at that point, and turned the ball over in their own end of the field.

The East tacked on 3 more points courtesy of the leg of Kicker Tyler Hadden (CAL HIGH).

The game ended with TJ Jones of Cal High being named MVP! What a great game, hats off to both teams and all of its participants.

Guru Notes: Look out next week for my recap of Spring Football. I expect for there to be a lot of shake-ups this season. It will be a curious scene to see whether La Mirada or Norwalk can live up to their pre-season hype of potentially winning the Southeast Division! Take care be safe and stay hydrated!

"THE GURU"