By Ron Vrooman
(Alhambra) – The Alhambra Moors flattened the visiting Mark Keppel Aztecs, 57-0, on Friday night to record their only victory in Almont League play and end the 2025 regular season at 5-5.
A fifth-place finish in a six-team league appeared to give Alhambra virtually no chance for a playoff berth, but the CIF Southern Section—-or its algorithms—-found a way for the Moors.
The Southern Section announced Sunday that Alhambra will host a first-round Division 14 game against the Bassett Olympians this Friday night. The Olympians, who finished third in the Miramonte League, have an overall record of 6-3-1.
Ironically, the teams’ one common opponent this year was Keppel, which Bassett defeated by a score of 55-22 back in September.
Playing in front of their homecoming crowd, the Moors scored 28 points in the first quarter and added 23 more in the second for a 51-0 halftime lead. The Aztecs, who had only 20 players available, managed just 57 yards from scrimmage and never got past the Alhambra 41. The Moors rolled up 316 yards in total offense.
Senior quarterback Bryan Leonard led the Alhambra attack, completing all five of his passes for a total of 144 yards and two touchdowns. Those scores came on a 52-yard bomb to Steven Escobar and a 26-yarder to Nero Navarro.
Tailback Halen Tsang gained 46 yards on only five carries, but three of them went for touchdowns. His highlight was a 36-yard burst which made the score 44-0 at the 9:42 mark in the second quarter. The game continued with a running clock the rest of the way.
Loading ...
@ NWO: Same here. We’ll take the surprise playoff berth, especially since we weren’t allowed in with an 8-2 record in 2018.
Also, to be perfectly honest, your San Gabriel Matadors got stiffed. Leave it to the CIF Southern Section; the people who control the playoff selections pass over teams that have winning records and let in teams that are 1-9.
It was nice to meet you this season Ron, but come on, 5th place playoff birth.