Spartans Chris Chiaromonte and Aaron Cantu
By Matt Schuler
(Bell Gardens)- “It’s Not over till the fat lady sings,” or at least according to the Schurr high school football team it isn’t.
Schurr overcame 14 penalties and used a late game-winning touchdown drive to spoil Bell Gardens homecoming, 17-10, and clinch the first game of Almont league play on Friday night at Bell Gardens High School.
Trailing by 1 point, Spartan quarterback Aaron Cantu orchestrated an impressive 8-play 86-yard drive, which was capped off by an 8-yard shovel pass to running back Abraham Gonzalez for the lead. Gonzalez was the recipient of the following two-point conversion try and the score was 17-10 with only 1:02 remaining on the clock.
“We work on our 2-minute drill in practice everyday and we always talk about composure,” Spartan head coach Ben Negrete said. “We just don’t give up.”
The Spartans were leading the entire game and up by 6 when Lancer quarterback Josh Adame threw a short slant rout on third and long to senior Chris Gutierrez. Gutierrez caught the pass, turned it up field, avoided a tackler, and raced down the sideline past defenders for a 48-yard touchdown strike, giving BG a 10-9 advantage with just 1:58 left to play in the fourth quarter.
Bell Gardens was actually trailing 9-0 with just eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter before putting the offense into gear and finding Gutierrez in open space. Gutierrez collected 110 yards on only 4 catches, including the 48-yard touchdown to put his team back in contention.
“They have a lot of heart,” said Negrete. “We knew this was going to be a tough game.”
It was Gonzalez who played hero for the Spartans, finishing with over 100 yards rushing on 22 carries and the game winning touchdown reception. The go ahead touchdown for the Spartans was set up by a 25- yard catch from Matthew Contreras, who scored Schurr’s first touchdown on a 7-yard hitch route 22 seconds before the first half ended.
The Spartans have an away game against Alhambra next week. Bell Gardens is also on the road at Montebello.
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