Guards Pull Out Win!

LONG BEACH — Touchdown pass helps Bell-Jeff defeat St. Anthony, 38-28. With just over three minutes to play and the Bellarmine-Jefferson High football team leading by two points, Guards’ Coach Rolando Aguirre decided to go for it on fourth down instead of punting the ball.

“I had no choice but to go for it,” Aguirre said. “Either we punt and put them on the 20, or go for it and play defense on the 35.”

Turns out, the Guards didn’t need to play defense on the 35, thanks to Micah Shirley finding Kevin Yuenyonsakul in stride for the 35-yard, game-clinching touchdown.

“When we drew up the play, I knew it was going to be a touchdown, because our line was doing a good job of holding their blocks,” said Shirley after the team’s 38-28 Santa Fe League victory Friday night at Clark Field. “And just throw the ball up and Kevin will catch it.”

The Saints’ offense had been doing a good job of moving the ball downfield with relative ease, especially in the second half, making the fourth down conversion likely a season-saving play.

St. Anthony (5-5, 1-3 in league) running back Thomas Brown put an exclamation point on the drives, scoring on four touchdown runs, each from five yards or less.

The Guards (6-4, 2-2), on the other hand, played a sloppy second half, for the most part, with numerous fumbles and costly penalties.

One fumble in particular had the Bell-Jeff coaching staff miffed. With 14 seconds left before halftime, the Guards were trying to kill the clock. But mishaps led to Brown running it in from five yards to cut the lead to, 16-13, and giving the Saints the momentum.

“We tried everything we could to lose this game,” Aguirre said. “But we pulled it out.”

In the end, though, it was Shirley’s clutch pass and his pair of touchdown runs earlier in the second half that kept the Saints from taking the lead, and potentially putting an end to the Guards’ season.

The Guards will travel to Boron Calif., this Friday night 11/20/09, to take on the Boron Bobcats. Directions

By Emin Avakian