Two programs that were putting everything together and seemingly peaking at the right time clashed on Friday night. The Sylmar Spartans visited the El Camino Real Royals in the quarterfinals of the CIF City Section Division 2 playoffs in a highly anticipated meeting. The Royals lost two very close games to end the regular season, but put together a very comprehensive over Hamilton, apparently righting the ship. The Spartans rebounded the last two weeks after they battled but fell to Valley Mission League rival and eventual champion Kennedy. On this first truly cold Friday night of the season, Sylmar continued to show why they are a team to be reckoned with, while El Camino was unable to execute their game plan as they wanted to in a decisive 44-13 victory for the Spartans.

After deferring possession to the second half following their win of the coin toss, the Royals defense had an early moment to put their stamp on this game. Sylmar had moved into El Camino territory on the opening drive, but a penalty pushed them into a first-and-25 situation. The Spartans worked their way back to the original line of scrimmage and faced a fourth-and-10. In that gray area where the offense is too far out to kick a field goal, but too close to punt, Sylmar opted to go for it, and successfully gained a first down. Ultimately, the Royals defense held and forced a field goal attempt that was good for a 3-0 Spartans lead midway through the first quarter.

El Camino looked to respond, and moved the ball into Sylmar territory, but junior quarterback Arturo Acevedo was intercepted on fourth-and-eight by senior Daniel Hernandez at the 25-yard line. This was the first of three interceptions for Hernandez, who also had a 35-yard interception he returned for a touchdown in the third quarter.

The Spartans capitalized on the turnover as the drive took them into the second quarter. Senior quarterback Jacob Mcdonald connected with sophomore wide receiver Elizeo Reyes for a 19-yard touchdown. Reyes did a wonderful job of keeping his feet down as he caught the ball with momentum carrying him out of bounds.

This time, the Royals were able to respond, and they did so quickly. Senior Jayden Williams took an end-around handoff and got around the edge to break his run. Williams went 35 yards for the touchdown and El Camino was back in the game, down 10-7.

Late in the second quarter, a bad snap pushed the Royals inside their own 10-yard line. Sylmar’s defense pinned them down and didn’t allow El Camino to recover and forced them to punt a few plays later. The Spartans then worked the ball into field goal range and Jesus Rodriguez drilled a 40-yard field goal as time expired to give Sylmar a 13-6 lead at halftime. Rodriguez went 3-4 on field goal attempts on the night.

The Royals received the opening kickoff and Williams looked as though he might break it for a touchdown, but he was stripped of the ball at midfield and the Spartans recovered. Sylmar needed only roughly one minute to capitalize on the turnover, as Mcdonald broke through for a 35-yard touchdown run.

Once again searching for a response, El Camino marched the field. Again deep in Spartans territory, the Royals were unable to capitalize as Acevedo was intercepted for the second time, this one in the end zone. Sylmar, however, was unable to capitalize on this turnover. After working the ball just past midfield into El Camino territory, Mcdonald went deep down the sideline for senior Anthony Nunez. Nunez was very well guarded by fellow senior Isaiah Foreman and Foreman made an amazing one-handed catch for the interception.

With the Royals regaining possession, they had a golden opportunity to get back into the game, trailing 20-7 midway through the third quarter. Unfortunately for El Camino, Acevedo was intercepted for the third time in the game, which Hernandez returned for a touchdown and a 27-7 Sylmar advantage.

The Royals did find their way back on the board on their next drive. El Camino passed their way into the red zone with Acevedo completing five straight passes. His sixth consecutive completion came when he found senior Rafael Cortez in the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown. The Royals missed the extra point, but were still not completely out of the game, trailing 27-13.

Sylmar, however, was intent on not letting El Camino have an opportunity to strike. The Spartans methodically worked the ball up the field on their subsequent possession, using seven minutes of game clock, before kicking a 39-yard field goal. A couple of plays later, senior Christopher Ojeda intercepted Acevedo and took it home for a 45-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach at 37-13. Sylmar would add one more touchdown with 2:42 left to wrap up the scoring.

While the Royals season has come to an end, they should be commended on the way the team battled throughout the year. The Spartans will be on the road again, as they travel to Chatsworth to face the Chancellors in the D2 semifinals on Friday, November 22 at 7:00 p.m.