Drama filled the air before the opening kickoff as it was clear those in attendance were about to witness history. The winner of this CIF Los Angeles City Section D3 semifinal matchup would be playing for history. The No 6 seed Fulton Jaguars, having just this season returned to 11-person football after being a dominant force in 8-person for years, were the host team at Monroe High School aiming to play for a title for the third straight season. The visiting Van Nuys Wolves were the No 7 seed and looking for their first trip to a City Section finals since 1996.

These two teams met in Week 4 of the season at Van Nuys in a tight battle that was decided by nine points, 23-14 in favor of the Jaguars. This contest was just as hard fought, and was decided by just five points with the Wolves coming out on top 17-12.

“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Fulton head coach Randy Luna said after the game, “We knew that you have to play the game the right way and not play the score. I think a lot of nerves kicked in slightly because we started off slow”

It was evident from the opening possession that these teams would battle until the final whistle. Senior Fredy Colin took the handoff for the Jaguars but was immediately met by multiple Wolves. Colin lost control of the football in the scrum, but fortunately for Fulton, senior Quarterback Emmanuel Martinez was right there to pick up the ball and turn a potential loss into a 7-yard gain. Van Nuys eventually forced a turnover on downs midway through the first quarter.

The ensuing Wolves possession started out strong with junior quarterback Carlos Herrera breaking a 15-yard run. Van Nuys would grind away down the field, ultimately stalling at the Fulton 15-yard line as the quarter ended. Leelen Castro opened the second quarter and the scoring for the game with a 22-yard field goal to give the Wolves a 3-0 lead. Van Nuys would add to their tally midway through the quarter on a very nice pass to senior Jeremy Rivas for an 18-yard touchdown. 

“We’re just blessed that (Herrera) has that blessing to be that versatile to take the team and control the clock,” reflected Wolves coach Ken Osorio. 

Fulton took control of the clock on the following possession, with some help from the Wolves with penalties. The first came on a quick third-and-eight with Van Nuys posed to get possession back, and it was mildly controversial. On the play, Martinez attempted to run, but the Wolves defense had penetrated through the offensive line enough to cause havoc. Junior Franklin Canales wrapped him up, but Martinez tried to break free. As Canales was taking Martinez to the ground, the head referee blew his whistle to end the play. Canales finished his tackle and was flagged for unnecessary roughness and a 15-yard penalty.

The Jaguars continued to work the ball down the field with Martinez leading the way. He converted a key third down run and then found Colin for another first down with a 10-yard connection. Senior Kevin Najera also contributed a big run, but the Wolves could not get off the field. They committed two facemask penalties keeping the ball with Fulton. With 14 seconds left in the first half, Colin ran a fade route into the end zone and Martinez placed a perfect pass for the touchdown. The extra point was low and blocked by the Van Nuys defense and the teams went into halftime with the score 10-6 in favor of the Wolves.

Van Nuys received the opening kickoff of the second half and almost extended their advantage. First they worked the ball into field goal range and brought Castro out to attempt a 40-yard field goal on 4th and 13. The kick was blocked, but there was a personal foul penalty called on Fulton, giving the Wolves a first down. A couple of plays later, Najera laid a big hit on Julian Garcia as he was coming through the hole with a tackler bringing him down. Najera appeared to go into Garcia’s head directly with his shoulder, leading to another penalty. Ultimately, the Jaguars stood tall on fourth and goal from the 1-yard line and regained possession following the turnover on downs. Later in the quarter, the Wolves would extend their lead on a 8-yard rush from Herrera and Castro’s extra point would give Van Nuys a 17-6 lead with 3:09 left in the third quarter.

More drama was thrown into the game as a pass interference call on third and 9 gave Fulton a new set of downs on their next possession. Martinez then attempted to work the ball deep to Najera, but senior Edwin Herrera jumped in front of the pass for an interception. Not to be deterred, Najera knocked the ball out and recovered the fumble to keep possession with the Jaguars. Martinez ultimately capped off the drive with a 5-yard rush for a touchdown. They then put the ball into the hands of big Isaac Danesta on a rush attempt for the two-point conversion. The Wolves defense broke through and stuffed the run, and Van Nuys held a 17-12 lead with 6:12 remaining in the game.

“Our linemen, on (the) offensive and defensive line, those guys are so unselfish” Said Osorio as he praised their play. “A lot of those guys have been at this school for four years just waiting for something like this to happen. It’s amazing that that’s occurring for them right now” Osorio also praised the defensive contributions of Louis Welling-Belli and Abraham Ceja, two players whose contributions have been mostly unsung this season.

Because both teams had continuously taken big chunks of time off the clock with their possessions, Fulton attempted an onside kick to regain the ball. The Wolves successfully recovered the kick, but were unable to move the ball beyond midfield. The teams quickly traded possession over the next three minutes, and Fulton got the ball back with enough time to try to drive the field.

“I love that defense. They held it down. Despite the fact that we lost, we (thrive) on our defense.” Luna said. “Defense wins championships, (though) we went through our slumps, once we started the East Valley League. We learned a lot about ourselves (and) I think we started to slowly, gradually understand what we need to do and I think we found our identity once again within the 11-man community. I truly believe this defense was amazing all season.” 

On that drive, disaster struck. On second down, Martinez threw a pass to Jefferson Roblero. Roblero jumped to catch it, but the ball just went through his hands and into those of Wolves junior defensive back Jeremy Moreno. Moreno returned his interception inside the Jaguars 25-yard line before he was tackled. During the return, Danesta went down while chasing Moreno. Play was stopped as the officials called for the first responders. His vitals were normal, but there was enough concern about his well-being that an ambulance was called. The Jaguars, clearly distraught, appeared listless during the over 30 minute delay. Danesta was eventually transported to a local medical center.

When play resumed, Van Nuys had possession with 2:02 on the clock and Fulton had one time out at their disposal. The Jaguars jumped offsides on first down, giving the Wolves a first and five. Fulton called time out after stopping the next run, but a couple plays later the Wolves lined up on a fresh set of downs and Carlos Herrera took a knee to end the game.

“We came into this game knowing it was a bad game against them the first time,” said quarterback Carlos Herrera. “We weren’t the team we are now. I wanted this game really bad. After (the last) game all the talk was we want Fulton in the playoffs. We get them and take advantage of (our) chance.”

Van Nuys moves on to the CIF City Section D3 finals and a rematch with Valley Mission League rival Panorama. The Pythons won that one 27-20, and defeated Los Angeles on the road to earn their spot in the finale. While Van Nuys is making their first finals appearance in almost 30 years, Panorama will be entering its third attempt in four seasons. They lost back to back finals in 2021 and 2022 in heartbreaking fashion to Taft and Kennedy respectively.

Fulton has a solid foundation to build on even though many seniors will be moving on. Our collective hearts at VST are with the Jaguars and Isaac Danesta and his family as he recovers.