Coming into Week 8 of the 2015 high school season, the San Pedro High football team looked forward to a Happy Homecoming against a struggling Gardena team Friday.

Mission accomplished.

The fireworks that shot off in the sky at halftime when San Pedro High seniors Mitchell Marino and Daisy Zepeda was announced the 2015 Homecoming King & Queen... paled in comparison to the fireworks that the host Pirates would administer on the field.
The game was only intense for the first 35 seconds, then San Pedro went on a historic rout that has never been seen before in the silver anniversary of the Mike Walsh coaching tenure, setting a school record with 61 unanswered points en route to a dominating 61-3 Marine League victory at Pirate Stadium.
San Pedro’s previous biggest victory was a 62-6 defeat of Jefferson of Los Angeles during the 2009 season, so the 58-point mauling of the Panthers is the largest margin of victory in Walsh’s 25 years as the head coach. Something the Pirates (5-3 overall, 2-1) felt they needed to accomplish going into their final two-game stretch against the Marine League’s two established powers in Carson and Narbonne of Harbor City to close the season.
Gardena (3-5, 0-3) started off the game with a surprise onside kick, which they recovered, and senior quarterback Jonathan Mudd’s 33-yard pass to senior wide receiver Christion Battle, which led to a 22-yard field goal by senior WR/DB/K Elton Herrera with 11:25 to play in the first quarter after three straight incomplete passes toward the end zone from San Pedro’s five-yard line.
Even after one first down, San Pedro was forced to punt on four plays, but that would be the only time the Pirates would not end an offensive series with a touchdown, and the defense went to work as the inconsistency of the Panther’s offense in recent weeks would start to rear its ugly head.
A three-and-out with one failed fake punt run attempt later, San Pedro would start on its historic run of unanswered points on a 16-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Kai Kaneshiro. An interception by senior cornerback Christian Michaels and a 30-yard run by senior running back Brian Halsey would lead to a one-yard touchdown off a quarterback sneak by senior Jacob Miller. Another three-and-out would lead to a one-yard touchdown run by Kaneshiro.
Inexplicably, San Pedro recovered their own deep kickoff by senior kicker Ricardo Parra, which bounced on the 11-yard line, and Gardena failed to recover it, when junior linebacker Sohl Gafa pounced on the ball, giving the Pirates the ball once again late in the first quarter. Immediately the Pirates would strike with Miller’s 16-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Mike Spinosa with two seconds to play.
From there, the Pirates were all ready for to zone in for the kill.
The second quarter was more of the same, as Miller tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Nick Zabatta, and Kaneshiro ran for touchdowns of 25 and 3 yards, and the Pirates would take an insurmountable 47-3 advantage into the locker room.
A running clock was implemented for the entire second half, and the starters got a well-deserved rest for the second week in a row, following up their previous 49-6 victory over Washington Prep of Los Angeles on October 16 after starting the league with a stunning 10-9 loss to Harbor Area neighbor Banning of Wilmington.
Halsey’s three-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, along with a nine-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter by junior running back Ruben Murillo on the game’s final play rounded out the scoring, as Gardena turned the ball over both times they had the ball on fumble recoveries by San Pedro senior linebacker Noe Lopez, and senior reserve defensive lineman Alec Degand. The Pirates basically played their scout team most of the second half and junior reserve quarterback Austin Jackson did not even attempt a single pass.
Kaneshiro had a really efficient night, on just eight carries he ran for 92 yards and four touchdowns. Halsey ran for a game-high 125 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, while Miller completed four of the six passes he attempted for 93 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Antonio ‘A.J.’ Frazier Jr. and Kaneshiro caught Miller’s other two pass completions on the night.
Next up for the Pirates, a rematch of last year’s CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division I semifinals with fellow Marine League foe Carson (3-5, 2-1), who will come into the game next Friday at Carson ready for combat after losing 58-7 to Narbonne on Friday.
San Pedro defeated Carson, 17-15 in the 2014 season finale to force a three-way share of the Marine League championship, but the Colts responded with a 33-30 semifinal win that put them in the finals, where they lost to the Gauchos.
Both meetings last season were played at San Pedro, giving this latest battle a new dynamic.