By Matthew Robinson
RESEDA-The Cleveland High Cavaliers were scheduled to host the Reseda Regents last night, but instead, Cavaliers Head Coach Mario Guzman and the school’s athletic director were informed on Wednesday that Reseda had to back out of the matchup because they didn’t have enough players for the game. Meanwhile, the Grant High Lancers (GHS) stepped in and replaced the Regents. But the Lancers had problems of their own, which included fielding a roster of only 23 players by game time Friday night.
Someone forgot to tell the Cavaliers that the Lancers were undermanned because the hosts never took their foot off the gas pedal from the opening kickoff until near the end of the second quarter. The Cavaliers used big games from their quarterback, their returning All-County running back, plus a superb performance from their defense to shut out the Lancers 53-0 at home.
It was an ominous sign that the Cavaliers (2-0) were going win this game in blowout fashion when Cavaliers senior running back Moyosoreoluwa Odebunmi (2 carries for 44 yards, and 1 score) leapt into the air and then caught his quarterback’s pass near the Grant 30-yard line, then the swift running back turned around and sped to near the GHS 25-yard line where he maneuvered his way out of an attempted tackle. And from there it was smooth sailing to the end zone. Odebunmi’s 32-yard touchdown catch gave the Cavaliers a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter. Thereafter, the Cavaliers blitzed the Lancers for 46 more points, which came by way of 5 offensive touchdowns, one defensive touchdown (a pick-six), as well as two special teams scores (a kickoff return for a touchdown and a field goal).
The Cavaliers racked up a 53-0 lead by the 6:21 mark of the second quarter. At that point it was obvious that this game had to end mercifully by way of some fastidious clock-running. By the start of the second quarter, a running clock was used; then in the second half, five-minute quarters (instead of the usual twelve-minute quarters) were deployed to help end the Lancers’ (0-2) misery.
In the two full days leading up to this game, Guzman preached to his players that the Lancers were going to be a gritty and tough team that would give it their best despite the circumstances of their football program, and he would know. Guzman, before becoming the head coach at Cleveland, spent a good portion of his formative and then some of his young adult years at Grant.
“I know they’re [Grant] a tough 23,” Guzman thought. “[I’ve] been around Grant all my life, I know they’ve got a tough community and tough kids there, so I know they’ll be okay.”
It’s nice of Guzman to be positive about Grant, but the program has fallen on tough times in the last few years. A 1-9 season last year, fewer than 30 players coming out for the team this year, and the fact that every team on its remaining schedule will field more players or more talent than it is a sobering reality.
Cavaliers senior quarterback Domenik Fuentes was an all-purpose player for the black and red last season, which included being a backup quarterback, running the ball in certain offensive packages, and leading the team in sacks (5) and ranking fifth on the team in tackles (47) on defense. But in 2026, Fuentes is strictly a quarterback, and he relishes that single but important responsibility. He went 3 for 3 for 61 yards, 2 touchdown passes, and no interceptions Friday. He also carried the ball 1 time for 38 yards, with that scoring run being a sleight of hand/tricking the Lancers defense touchdown run down the left sideline in the first quarter.
Fuentes is aware of the talent available at running back for the Cavaliers and he praised them for their efforts last night even though their carries were truncated because of the state of the game. He has played alongside Odebunmi and fellow senior Joseph Hurtado (49 carries for 248 yards and 3 scores in 2025) since last year. That running game is going to help Fuentes navigate through a schedule that will have its share of tough outs such as Castaic (next week’s opponent), Birmingham, Crenshaw, Granada Hills, and others.
“The running core was beautiful, from the [offensive] line to the fullback to the running back to even the quarterback handing it off, beautiful,” Fuentes said.
How far the Cavaliers go in 2026 on offense will depend on the arm and feet of Fuentes, the running game, and, of course, the play of the offensive line. That offensive line is comprised of sophomore center Pedro Castaneda, junior left guard Jovanni Orellana, senior left tackle Adam Garbisch, sophomore right guard Carter Fitzgerald, and senior right guard Carlos Izaguirre Gomez.
“I owe them [offensive line] something; I gotta get them donuts, pizza, I don’t know,” Fuentes joked.
For those who were at the game, it wasn’t all about the offense. Grant didn’t get past midfield throughout the first half and just about every Cavalier starter or second-string defender did something exemplary by way of a sack, a tackle for loss, quarterback pressures or hurries. On defense, the Cavaliers were led by senior cornerback Clarence Williams (4 tackles, 3 tackles for loss), junior defensive end Christiano Larios (2 tackles, both were tackles for loss), and Garbisch (3 tackles, 1 sack, and 3 TFLs).
The Cavaliers kicked off the scoring when Odebunmi took a Fuentes pass 32 yards for a touchdown. Thereafter, a series of scores came via offensive and defensive plays, which included senior wide receiver Cobe Green taking a Fuentes pass 23 yards into the end zone and junior defensive back Michael Reyna intercepting a Grant pass and taking the theft into the end zone to give the hosts a 21-0 lead.
Cleveland’s lead expanded when Fuentes faked a handoff to Hurtado up the middle, then the quarterback took off to his left where he had some serious open space. Fuentes took advantage of that open space and sped down the visiting sideline for an untouched 38-yard scoring run. Senior kicker Diego Mendez came in and booted through the uprights the extra point kick to give his team a 38-0 lead with 14.6 seconds left in the first quarter.
The highlight of the night didn’t come from Fuentes or the team’s biggest star, Odebunmi; it came from talented sophomore wide receiver/defensive back/punt returner Donovan Shirley. The 5 foot 8 and 134 pounder saw a Grant punt sail over his head, so Shirley ran back to the Cavalier 15-yard line, where he gained possession of the ball. And from there, Shirley used his speed, athleticism, and good blocks mainly from senior wide receiver Logan Deguzman (at the GHS 47-yard line) and junior defensive end Matasia Bray (GHS 36-yard line) to speed untouched down the Cavaliers’ sideline and into the end zone. That 85-yard kickoff return gave the home team a 46-0 lead in the second quarter.
Guzman is appreciative of what Shirley brings to this team and that 85-yard kickoff return for a score was a by-product of Shirley’s athleticism and the hard work he has put in since the offseason.
“I’m super proud of the kid; he grew up a lot this offseason,” Guzman offered. “That kickoff return was a testament to his hard work.”
The game’s last scoring play was a quicksilver-like 30-yard touchdown run up the middle by Odebunmi. That scoring run would be the last time he would touch the ball, as he clearly wasn’t needed for the rest of the game. That score gave the Cavaliers an insurmountable 53-0 lead with 6:21 left in the second quarter.
Next week, the Cavaliers will travel around 30 miles to the northwest section of Los Angeles County to take on the 2-0 Castaic High Coyotes for a 7:00 pm kickoff. Grant will travel to Legacy High School in South Gate to take on the Tigers for a 7:00 pm meeting.