By Alex A. Gonzalez
Baldwin Park – In a game where the Baldwin Park Braves and the Los Altos Conquerors have won a combined 15 straight games, all it took was a receiver double pass and a pick-six in the final two minutes for the Braves to come out with a 35-22 win Friday night at Baldwin Park High School.
Jordan Minor scored the go-ahead touchdown with less than a minute to play in regulation, and Gregory Holland sealed the win by picking off Luke Rodriguez and returning it for a touchdown as the final buzzer sounded.
“I’m feeling super hyped. I gotta thank my O-line; even though I fumbled, they still went up for me,” said Minor postgame. “And thank you to the D-line for the pick-six to seal the game.”
The Week 9 Hacienda league matchup started with both teams trading leads in front of the chaotic homecoming crowd.
BP was the first to reach paydirt when Minor scored his first of three touchdowns of the night at the 11:06 mark of the second quarter from a yard out.
The Conquerors then pulled ahead as the team called all running plays on their 11-play drive that was eventually capped by Rodriguez’s 4-yard quarterback keeper. Rodriguez and Nathaniel Sanchez combined for 80 yards on the drive, which led to an 8-7 lead after a successful 2-point try with 3:20 remaining in the second quarter.
But then the lead vanished as Braves quarterback Jack-Jack Jackson went perfect on his passes, gaining 28 yards and moving the team into the red zone. The Braves jumped ahead 15-7 after Minor took the handoff, made a jump cut to the short side of the field, and darted for the end zone from 22 yards out.
Baldwin Park then made it a two-possession game after halftime when Jackson and Co. marched down the field on their first series in less than three minutes. Jackson capped the 7-play drive when he optioned to keep the rock and bulldozed his way into the endzone.
The game then became a one-possession contest before the third quarter ended on the chilly Friday night when Los Altos replicated their earlier success by calling all running plays to drive them down the field. This time, Evan Rojas carried the load for the Conquerors, totaling 35 yards on six carries, including a 1-yard touchdown run.
Momentum then shifted over to Los Altos in the opening minutes of the final quarter when Joseph Munoz recovered Minor’s fumble in the endzone. The offense capitalized on the turnover when Rojas converted 4th and short for six. After the PAT, the game was deadlocked at 22 with 3:53 left.
On the final possession of the night, the Braves offense moved the ball downfield behind Jackson and Jacory Coleman. The drive stalled when the offense was penalized for holding, moving the ball back to the 50-yardline.
Then on 2nd and mile, Jackson threw a quick pass to Damari Pitts, who faked the defense by floating a 36-yard pass to Donovan St Cyr, who was tackled at the LA 14-yardline. Two plays later, Minor finished the drive with a 12-yard run into the endzone, giving the Braves a 29-22 lead.
“I was just thinking touchdown, touchdown, touchdown,” Minor said about the double pass. “Praying he caught it, he caught it, and it was all good from there.”
Holland then ended the game by sitting back on his pass rush, intercepting Rodriguez, and returning it for the score as the sideline and stands erupted in celebration of the 35-22 victory.
With the win, Baldwin Park will look to extend their winning streak to nine straight next Thursday when they end their regular season at South Hills. Los Altos will look to bounce back next Friday when they host Diamond Bar.
Los Altos Starting O-Line
LT 68 Arthur Estrada
LG 56
C 52 Gilbert Sosa
RG 65 Xavier Ocampo
RT 70 Gegorio Solis
Baldwin Park Starting O-Line
LT 50 Omar Quintanilla
LG 55 Anthony Alzaga
C 66 Cobey Lacy
RG 51 Puentes Joseph
RT 56 Gregory Holland
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