The El Camino Royals completed a full season sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in their fourth meeting of the season, this one for the CIF City Section Division 2 championship. The Royals had defeated the Cavaliers by a combined 16 points during their three hard-fought regular season contests. El Camino jumped out in front early, and, following a tense first half, pulled away in the second half for a 26-0 victory.

Cleveland began with the ball, but were unable to gain much traction, punting following a three-and-out. El Camino took over in their own territory and needed only seven plays to take the lead. The first two plays of their opening possession were a fumbled handoff and a rush for no gain. On third and long, sophomore quarterback Talya Haim connected with senior Abby Liebtecht for 26 yards and a Royals first down. Four plays later, Haim found senior Amaya Perry for a 10-yard touchdown and a 6-0 lead following an unsuccessful 2-point attempt.

The Cavaliers defense kept El Camino in check the rest of the first half, and their offense had two chances to get on the board before halftime. First, Cleveland worked their way into goal to go territory and almost came away with points. The Royals, however, received big plays on third and fourth down from Mia Beardsly and Perry respectively, as both broke up pass attempts in the end zone. 

Following another three-and-out, highlighted by a big pass break up by freshman Cindy Martinez, the Cavaliers marched the field again. This time, they gained extra yardage on a holding penalty, followed immediately by a roughing the passer call against El Camino. Cleveland once again was in scoring range, but the Royals defense held their ground, highlighted by a near interception from senior Bianca Espiritu on a pass that was also tipped by Perry and senior Aniya Spencer. El Camino took over possession, but the final 12 seconds ticked away and the teams went into halftime with another close game at 6-0.

The opening drive of the second half promised more tight football when Martinez intercepted Haim to give Cleveland the ball. Freshman quarterback Nina Ramirez literally put the Cavaliers on her back, as she ran for a first down on third and long and followed that up with a 13-yard run for another first down. Unfortunately for Cleveland, as they had entered goal-to-go territory, Perry intercepted Ramirez to give El Camino the ball back.

The Royals’ subsequent drive took them to the midway point of the second half where they extended their lead. Haim found senior Victoria Brown for a 39-yard touchdown and a 12-0 lead following the missed two-point pass. The El Camino defense continued its strong showing by recording a sack on the first play. The Royals held the Cavaliers, forcing a fourth and long. Trailing by two scores, Cleveland essentially had no choice but to go for it. Beardsley almost intercepted Ramirez, but El Camino still forced a turnover on downs.

The Royals scored again after regaining possession. This time Haim connected with Spencer for a 6-yard touchdown. Already up three scores, El Camino lined up for a one-point play and Spencer converted on a pass from Haim for a 19-0 lead. 

The Cavaliers were unable to move the ball much again, turning the ball over on downs with time running out. Unfortunately for Cleveland, they surrendered one more big play defensively. Spencer broke a 42-yard run on the first play of the drive to push the Royals lead to 26-0 following Hadassahlynzi Williams’ one-point rush. 

The El Camino defense again kept the pressure up, and as the clock was approaching triple zeroes, senior Koryn Banks pulled Martinez’s flag for a sack to end the game. It took a second for it to sink in, but very quickly, the Royals sideline erupted in celebration. El Camino had won the CIF City Section D2 championship in the division’s first year.