By Matthew Robinson, Special to the San Fernando Valley Sun
IRVINE- The San Fernando Tigers came into last night’s Division 7-AA CIF State Bowl Championship game with tons of verve and ambition, but when the game ended, all that remained among the Tiger coaches and players was tears, anger, and the realization that their season was over. The Tigers slogged through eight offensive drives tonight, which helped give the Woodbridge Warriors the impetus to pull out a hard-fought 13-0 win at neutral site University High School in Irvine. With this loss, the Tigers’ record goes to 11-4 overall, while the Warriors move their record to 7-8 and will advance to the Division 7-AA State Championship game to face Redding Christian (Northern California).
Tonight’s game represented the Tigers’ first appearance in a CIF Bowl Championship game (regardless of Division) in their school history. They were the only team from the San Fernando Valley’s 11-Man division to not only win a Los Angeles City Section Championship but also appear in this annual tournament.
As for the Warriors, they won this game due to three factors: running back Kayjahn Pitts, their defense, and the fact that the Tigers couldn’t get out of their own way on offense. Pitts was a model of efficiency and annoyance for the Tigers’ defense as he zigged and zagged for 125 yards on 24 carries and 1 score. All the Warriors needed on offense was Pitts, as their quarterback, as well as the team’s other offensive weapons, were seen and barely heard from all night. Then on defense, the Warriors rationed the Tigers’ biggest offensive weapons (four of them) to below their per-game averages. And finally, eight offensive drives (that was how many offensive drives they had for the game) that netted zero points did in the Tigers.
The Warriors kicked off the game’s scoring when quarterback Waylon Stone threw a pass to the top left corner of the end zone that was caught by wide receiver Jaylen Webb (who was wide open on the play) for a 7-yard scoring connection. The subsequent two-point conversion run by the Warriors was no good, so the score was 6-0 late in the first quarter. The points scored on that play turned out to be all the points that the Warriors would need tonight.
The Warriors closed out tonight’s scoring when Pitts took a Stone handoff and ran to his right, where he found some prime real estate and barely any Tiger defenders in the vicinity, which enabled him to easily amble into the end zone to complete a 17-yard scoring run. With that score and Fabian Gray’s successful extra point kick, the score moved to 13-0 with 2:44 left in the second quarter.
Near the tail end of the first half, it was an ominous sign that things weren’t going to go the Tigers’ way when Tigers quarterback Julian Sarzo took the snap and then drifted back in the pocket so he could find a receiver to throw to, but no Tiger receiver could get open. In turn, Sarzo had to endure Warriors linebacker David Bosley cornering him deep in the backfield and then diving onto him to complete an infuriating 15-yard sack, which ended the half.
Over the next two quarters, the Tigers received a steady dosage of Pitts (16 carries in the second half) and stalled offensive drives of their own, with one of those drives going deep into Tigers’ scoring territory (going as far as the Warriors’ 17-yard line). But alas, a penalty and a 7-yard loss on a running play on fourth down killed the once-promising drive.
As for the Tigers’ biggest offensive names of the 2025 season, all five of them tonight were either no-shows or treated to a good dosage of suppression by the Warriors’ defense. Sarzowho has been a model of efficiency and consistency this season, had a devil of a time dealing with the Warriors’ pass rush tonight. He came into this game with 2,460 yards passing on 71% accuracy and 28 scoring passes, but by the time he threw his last pass of the game, which was an interception to Warriors linebacker Hunter King, his final statistics for the game were nowhere near a reflection of the type of quarterback he is. Sarzo finished the game 9 of 16 for 115 yards and 2 interceptions. He was also sacked 4 times for minus 35 yards.
Senior running back and linebacker Melvin Pineda, who bullied Cleveland’s defense for 170 yards and 2 scores in the Division II title game last week, carried the ball 11 times for 50 yards tonight, with much of those yards coming in the first half. Everywhere he turned, either two or three Warrior defenders were ready to descend on him and/or keep him to a minimal gain. He gained 22 of his total yards rushing for the game in the first half. His longest carry of the game was a 15-yard run in the third quarter that put the Tigers at the Warriors’ 25-yard line, but a few plays later, after that big run, an errant snap from the center ended up way back at the Warriors’ 41-yard line (a Tigers receiver recovered the ball), which forced a punt. It was that kind of night for the Warriors’ offense.
One of the better receivers in Los Angeles County high school football this season in senior Andrew Newchurch (40 catches for 731 yards, and 9 scores), was held to just 3 catches for 27 yards tonight, with 25 of those yards coming in the second half. He was held to just 1 catch for 2 yards in the first two quarters, and part of the reason for that was because he had to run the Wildcat offense (where a running back or wide receiver lines up in the shotgun formation or deep in the backfield) to help give the Tigers some life or a pulse. As a runner tonight, Newchurch carried 10 times for 19 yards, he was 1 for 2 as a passer, and he collected 6 tackles (3 solos) on defense.
Receiver Darrion Turner Jr. (led the team in catches with 45 during the season for 662 yards and 8 scores in 2025) was held to 2 catches for 34 yards by the Warriors’ defense. Then there was two-way player Brandon Robinson, who was one of the Three Amigos in the Tigers receiver corps this season (the productive ones that is), caught 4 passes for 43 yards and was in on 4 tackles on defense tonight. Robinson tried his best to help will his team down the field on every drive they had tonight, but he was only one man, and he could only do so much.
The Tigers on defense were actually quite good tonight and they helped keep the Tigers in the game. Even though Pitts gained 125 yards rushing, he had to earn every single last one of those yards and he was held out of the end zone in the second half.
Defenders like sophomore defensive lineman Bryce Robinson (5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss), junior defensive lineman Paul Villegas (2 tackles, 1 tackle for loss), sophomore defensive back Ayden Celis (6 tackles), and senior defensive lineman Brandon Arana (6 tackles, 1 QB hurry) were some of the names to remember on defense tonight for the Tigers. Fortunately for the Tigers, many of those defenders will be back in 2026.
The Tigers will say goodbye to eight key seniors from this 2025 team who helped the black and gold go 16-10 these past two seasons (2024-2025), capture a Los Angeles City Section Championship (2025), and most importantly bring back the respect to the Tigers football program that they enjoyed back in the 2010s when Robert Garcia was the head coach.