LAKE BALBOA – One of the most underrated elements of football is the energy a team brings to pre-game warmups. The King-Drew Magnet High School Eagles (from the Willowbrook section of South Central Los Angeles) were bouncing up and down on their side of the field for pre-game warmups, the team celebrated big plays during the game on both sides of the ball, and they did their share of barking at Birmingham Patriots players during the game. And as it turned out, the Eagles’ boundless energy and trash talk were backed by solid play on both offense and defense as they administered a serious 36-15 beatdown of the Patriots in the Open Division Quarterfinals at Rick Prizant Stadium in Lake Balboa.
2nd Highlight: Birmingham quarterback Delvin Young (#9) scores on a one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
3rd Highlight: Birmingham quarterback Delvin Young throws a four-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Paul Turner (#0) in the fourth quarter.
This loss marks the second straight season Birmingham (5-6 overall, 4-1 West Valley League) has had its season ended in the playoffs by a team from the Coliseum League. Last year, the Crenshaw Cougars ended the Patriots’ season with a 12-7 victory in the Open Division Quarterfinals. With the win, the Eagles (7-4, 3-1 Coliseum League) advance to the Semifinal round of the Open Division playoffs, where they travel to the South Bay to take on the Carson Colts.
Friday, November 13, 2026, was truly a Friday the 13th nightmare for San Fernando Valley area high school football teams, as eight teams lost their quarterfinal playoff games. And those teams included two teams from the Open Division (Birmingham and Cleveland), two teams from Division I (Poly and El Camino Real), two teams from Division II (Arleta and Panorama), and two teams from Division III (Arroyo and Van Nuys). Kennedy (12-0, Division I), Sylmar (8-4, Division II), and San Fernando (8-4, Division II) are the only Valley area teams left in the playoffs, and one of those teams will be eliminated next week for sure because two of those remaining teams will oppose each other next week in the Semifinal round (Sylmar vs. San Fernando).
Meanwhile, the rain, penalties, myriad stalled offensive drives, two fumbles, and the Eagles’ offensive and defensive success doomed the Patriots from the start. Just when it seemed that the Patriots were on to something on offense, a fumble, dropped passes, overthrown or underthrown passes, or sacks gave the Eagles the momentum they needed to get their own program going. Then there was the energy factor, which the Patriots seemed to be without for much of the game. Gloomy weather, bored Patriot fans on the home side, the well-received and exemplary Patriots marching band was not in attendance (that band has been responsible for much of the energy at Patriot home games all season), the Patriot yell squad (the team that shouts encouraging acronyms and who implores the crowd to cheer and get into the game) was not in attendance, and the Patriots football team itself seemed to be in a bored or energy-less daze throughout the game, save for a few players on defense.
The Eagles had the speed, the game-long momentum, the energy, and the talent to do what they wanted on Friday. The 44-year-old high school, which has only been playing varsity football since 2022, has the potential to collect its second Los Angeles City Section Championship since 2024, which is the year they won a Division I Championship over Palisades 56-35, but first they have to get past the top team in Los Angeles County, the Carson Colts. The Patriots, on the other hand, will have to pick up the pieces of their season, which includes replacing 15 key seniors in 2027. That Class of 2027 was comprised of three-year (since 2024), two-year (since 2025), and one-year (2026) varsity members who helped the Patriots go 20-14, which included three straight playoff seasons and two West Valley League titles (2024 and 2025).
The Eagles had so many weapons for the Patriots to put up with; it’s a wonder the final score wasn’t 50-15 instead of the recorded final score of 36-15. Eagles junior quarterback Gabriel Torres went 11 of 16 for 200 yards, three scoring passes, and no interceptions. Many times in the pocket, he stood back and had all night to throw. The Patriots only had two quarterback pressures on the night and one quarterback hurry and that was a testament to the Eagles’ offensive line and the lack of a decent pass rush from the Patriots. Torres distributed his 11 completions to five of his receivers. The biggest recipient of his passes was senior Giovanni Gaut, who caught four passes for 111 yards and one score, which included a smooth 54-yard catch-and-run scoring reception early in the second quarter.
Torres received help from senior fullback Samuel Jones, who carried 11 times for 92 yards and one score. The downhill runner complemented the Eagles’ passing game very well. He was a part of an Eagles running game that sped away from or past the Patriots defense for 142 yards on 19 carries with two scoring runs.
One of the seniors that the Patriots will miss in 2027 is left-handed quarterback Delvin Young. Yes, he had a far from satisfactory game Friday night, but he did make some plays here and there that showed how much he meant to the navy blue and burnt yellow (the colors of Patriots athletics) in 2026. One of those plays was a 27-yard run in the second quarter in which, near the end of that run, he carried half the Eagles’ defense on his back, around his legs, and his midsection. After the play, he popped up and had a small celebration. Young against the Eagles, in the passing department, went six of 12 for 50 yards and one scoring pass. He led the Patriots in rushing with 15 carries for 72 yards and one scoring run. Ten of his fifteen total carries on the night were positive gains. He was sacked three times by the Eagles’ defense, which was at times his fault, his offensive line, and his receivers. His receivers had trouble getting open for much of the night and when they did get open and catch Young’s passes, they were usually for sparse gains. The Patriots’ longest pass completion of the night was for 12 yards.
Then there were the Patriots running backs. Senior Braylen Morgan gained 30 yards on nine carries, and fumbled the ball once. That fumble, which took place early in the first quarter and during the Patriots’ second offensive drive of the game, had mental and scoreboard repercussions the Patriots did not anticipate. After that fumble, Morgan didn’t carry the ball again until near the end of the second quarter. Sophomore running back Kellan Chance, who came into the game as the Patriots’ third-leading rusher, gained 22 yards on five carries, which was third on the team behind Young and Morgan. Chance also caught one pass for one yard. Morgan and Chance got their yards, but they weren’t big threats to the Eagles’ defense like Young was. All told, the Patriots carried the ball 31 times for 114 yards (3.7 yards per carry) and one score.
The biggest name on the Patriots team is senior wide receiver Paul Turner, and he didn’t see his name in lights last night. He was locked up in good single coverage or double low (cornerback) and high (safety) coverage. The Eagles really did their homework on Turner during the week leading up to the game and during Friday’s contest. Turner is one of the top wide receivers in Los Angeles County, which includes the Los Angeles City Section and the Southern Section, but last night Turner’s talent and hype meant nothing to the Eagles’ defense. Coming into the game, Turner averaged 114 yards receiving and 6.8 catches per game, but Friday he only caught two passes for 13 yards and one score. That score took place early in the fourth quarter. The Eagles’ defensive coordinator and defense were determined not to let Turner have his way in this game. His longest catch went for nine yards. The Patriots’ second-best receiver, sophomore Nate Chandler, was in on two catches for 24 yards on the night. After a 12-yard gain to the Patriot 49-yard line in the second quarter, he sort of disappeared in terms of relevance to the Patriot offense.
If there was a player in this game for the Patriots who exuded consistency, it was senior varsity punter Dante Diloretto, who punted three times for 140 yards (46.6 yards per punt). He had back-to-back punts that went 50 yards, and his last punt of the night went for 40 yards. His partner in the kicking game, junior kicker Eddy Vigueras, went one for one on PAT kicks. On the return, Turner authored two kickoff returns for 36 yards.
On defense, the Patriots were led by senior linebackers Ivan Gonzalez (inside), who was in on 10 tackles (one solo, nine assists) and linebacker Ray Worthen (outside), who had five tackles (one solo, four assists), one sack, and one quarterback hurry. Neither one of them dictated the direction of the Eagles offense and neither of them were big factors on defense, but they made plays here and there and they brought the intensity as much as they could (especially Worthen). Turner was in on four tackles (two solos, two assists), Chandler had two tackles (one solo, one assist), and junior defensive back Hayden Shuler had three tackles (two solos, one assist) and two PAT kick blocks.
Senior linebacker Chris Barrera had 6 tackles (one solo, five assists) and he caught one pass for 12 yards on offense. Senior defensive end Jack Feza (four tackles, one QB pressure), senior defensive back Matthias Quin (two tackles), junior defensive back Jalen Brashears (one tackle), sophomore defensive back Isaac Kisubi (one tackle), and junior defensive back Kade Jacobs (two tackles, both solos) did their collective parts on defense. Sophomore linebacker Andrew Claros checked in with one solo tackle that took place in front of the Patriots sideline; junior defensive back Jason Arevalo had two tackles, which included a solo one-yard tackle for loss; sophomore defensive lineman Ivan Marban had one tackle (assist); senior defensive end Alex Herrera was in on two tackles (both assists) and one quarterback pressure, and senior defensive tackle Wyatt Bingham had two tackles (both assists).
After the Morgan fumble early in the second quarter, the Eagles went to work starting at their own 39-yard line. It took the Eagles just five plays to capitalize on Morgan’s fumble. On first down and on the first play of the second quarter, Torres took the snap and then handed the ball to Jones, the fullback then bumped into Torres in what looked like a sweet opportunity for the Patriots to get a tackle for loss, but not one Patriots defender got into the backfield and laid a hand on Jones. The fullback took full advantage of the lack of any Patriot defender being in his immediate area and proceeded to take off to his right; then he slightly cut back to his left, where he raced past multiple Patriot defenders, and he wasn’t touched until he reached the end zone. The 29-yard scoring run and the successful Alejandro Carranza PAT kick gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead with 11:42 left in the second quarter.
The Eagles increased their lead when its slot receiver Joey Torres raced past Arevalo and got behind the defense for an easy and wide-open 27-yard scoring catch. That was Torres’s only catch of the night. Meanwhile, after Torres scored, Arevalo stood in the end zone and wondered why he had no deep coverage help from anyone on the Patriots’ defense. Carranza’s PAT kick was blocked by Shuler, so the score stood at 13-0 with 7:14 left in the second quarter.
The Patriots received their first score of the night when Young took the snap and ran to his left, where he found some open space for an easy one-yard scoring run. That was his seventh rushing touchdown of the season. Young’s scoring run and Vigueras’s high and strong extra-point kick cut the Eagles’ lead to 13-7 at halftime.
The Eagles meant business in the second half, as that’s when they really put this game on ice. On their first drive of the third quarter, they scored again, when Torres threw deep and found Gaut with Chandler draped over the receiver like a nighttime blanket. The blanket coverage meant nothing to Gaut as he caught the pass, then he got lucky when Chandler fell off him, giving the speedy receiver the license to race the last 27 yards untouched to the end zone. Gaut’s scoring catch and Carranza’s true PAT kick gave the Eagles a 20-7 lead with 9:17 left in the third quarter.
Later in the third quarter, Carranza made his ninth field goal of the season, moving the Eagles’ lead to 22-7.
The second-best play of the night for Birmingham took place on their third-to-last offensive drive of the game. Young took the snap and drifted back to the Eagles’ 11-yard line; from there he turned right and fired a pass to Turner, who caught it amid tight coverage from Eagles cornerback Kenny James. Turner then ditched James and dashed to the end zone to complete a four-yard scoring catch. In the end zone and near there, the only Patriot who celebrated the scoring catch was Turner, as it seemed the Patriots knew they were in deep trouble (which they were) and that there was much, much work to be done as far as a rally was concerned. Young scored on the two-point conversion run and the Eagles’ lead was cut to 23-15 with 10:57 left in the game. At the time, no one knew the Patriots wouldn’t score again or that the Eagles were on their way to a 13-0 run for the rest of the fourth quarter.
The Eagles put the game away when senior running back Jemari Holt took a Torres handoff and proceeded to run forward, then ended up carrying three Patriot defenders into the end zone. Holt’s four-yard scoring run and Carranza’s true PAT kick gave the Eagles a commanding 30-15 lead with 4:09 left.
A fumble on a backward toss from backup Patriots junior quarterback Daniel Kakooza to Young, which the latter barely got ahold of near the time when he fumbled the ball, gave the ball back to the Eagles. Four plays after that Young fumble, Torres fired a pass to the back top left corner of the end zone that was caught by junior wide receiver Darr Muhammad, who showed good hand-eye coordination and body control on the play. Shuler, who was victimized on the Muhammad touchdown catch (he was beaten badly in coverage on the play), ended up blocking Carranza’s last extra point kick of the game. Muhammad’s 13-yard scoring catch put the final score at 36-15 with 1:50 remaining.
On the last offensive play of the season for the Patriots, Kakooza took the snap and drifted back to his own 30-yard line which is where he ended up falling to the turf without assistance from anyone on the Eagles defense. The 10-yard loss on fourth down gave the ball back to King/Drew. The Eagles ended the game when Torres executed a kneel-down back at the Birmingham 37-yard line.