Luis Giron’s go-ahead TD in the final seconds sends Wolves past Pythons 43-36 in a Valley Mission League rematch of the 2024 D3 Finals

VAN NUYS – Almost one full year removed from their heartbreaking loss in the 2024 CIF L.A. City Division III Championship game, the Van Nuys Wolves have responded with a vengeance in their 2025 campaign with an 8-1 record going into Friday night. Hosting their final game of the season on their home field for Senior Night, Van Nuys faced off against their Valley Mission League rival in the 5-3 Panorama Pythons. The very team who celebrated a city championship at their expense in a 38-29 victory last season. The two teams faced off in a highly-entertaining shootout where both teams battled back from multiple score deficits. Van Nuys stormed back from a 20-7 deficit to take a two-score lead in the second half. The Pythons battled back in the fourth to take a 36-35 lead with 3:53 left in the game, where Van Nuys marched down the field towards a game-winning touchdown run from senior running back Luis Giron in a thrilling 43-36 victory. 

Panorama received possession of the football to start the game and immediately threw the first punch. On the third play of the game they hit with a long touchdown run of over 60 yards by senior running back Elmer Rivera to go ahead 7-0. Van Nuys took the field led by senior dual-threat quarterback and team captain Carlos Herrera, who came into Friday ranked 9th in the CIF L.A. City Section with 860 rushing yards on the season. After a slow start offensively, the Wolves began to move the ball down the field towards the end of the first quarter. 

As the game moved into the second quarter, Herrera capped off the second drive for Van Nuys with a 6-yard touchdown throw to senior wideout Samuel Villagrana to tie the game at seven. Panorama went on the counterattack on the second play of their next drive, when Rivera ripped off an explosive 75-yard run to the house for his second touchdown of the contest to retake the lead at 14-7. The Pythons proceeded to regain possession of the football by successfully recovering the kickoff attempt following the touchdown, but turned the ball over on downs on their subsequent possession. 

After their defense forced a punt from Van Nuys, Panorama sophomore fullback Brandon Hernandez reached the end zone on the second play of their next drive on a powerful 57-yard score to put the Pythons ahead 20-7 after the failed two-point try. With 2:47 remaining in the first half, Giron and Herrera each broke off huge first down gains on the first two plays of their next drive to put Van Nuys in red zone territory. Van Nuys senior Jeremy Moreno crossed the plain on a 5-yard score to make it a one-score game. Hungry for more points heading into the locker room, Panorama sophomore quarterback Sebastian De Alba-Medina threw an interception on the first play of their next drive to Van Nuys senior linebacker Alejandro Diaz with 1:45 left in the half. 

A costly holding penalty halted the opportunity for the Wolves to capitalize on the turnover, and they went into the locker room trailing 20-14 at the break. The Van Nuys offense took the field to begin the second half, where Herrera aired it out to Villagrana throughout the drive. He was rewarded with a 12-yard touchdown reception to give the Wolves their first lead of the game at 21-20. 

Van Nuys earned a key third down stop on their next defensive sequence. Special teams play stepped up next, when Giron recovered a blocked punt attempt and returned it for a touchdown to give them a 28-20 lead with 6:51 left in the third quarter.

Van Nuys Head Coach Ken Osorio elaborated on the importance of the touchdown and the second quarter turnover following their win, “We already knew it was going to be a tough game no matter what, so those key plays really allowed us to kinda swing momentum back our way by taking them out of their game and allowing us to play our game.”

On the next possession for Panorama, De-Alba Medina used his legs to put the Pythons in goal territory with a breakaway 56-yard run. After failing to reach the end zone of their first three attempts, Panorama was stopped once again on 4th and Goal with four yards to go. The goal line stand ignited the home crowd for Van Nuys, which was later brought to a frenzy when three plays later, Herrera dodged two defenders en route to the end zone on an acrobatic 90-yard touchdown run to put Van Nuys ahead 35-20 with 2:06 left in the third quarter. 

Adrenaline kicked in for Herrera during the run, as he talked about hurting his toe on the previous play after the game, “It was kind of in my head throughout the whole entire run, but I’ve never been so exhausted in my life after running that much!”

Sensing the game slipping away from them, Panorama responded with a vengeance as Hernandez reached the end zone for his second score of the night on a 60-yard touchdown run on the third play of the drive. A successful two-point conversion trimmed the deficit to 35-28 for the Pythons as the game moved into the fourth quarter. 

An offensive holding penalty stifled the next drive for the Wolves, as the Panorama defense forced them to punt. Panorama retrieved the football with 9:43 left in the game, where they went to the foundation of their ground game to move the ball down the field. Having chewed up almost six minutes of game clock, Rivera reached the end zone for a third time on a 22-yard score. The Pythons successfully converted a two-point try to re-gain the lead at 36-35. 

The Pythons once again recovered the kickoff attempt, but a costly penalty gave the Wolves favorable field position on the Panorama 43-yard line with 3:43 remaining in the game. After penalties from both teams, Herrera used his legs to get a first down as the game moved inside the two-minute mark. Van Nuys used their second timeout, and the game came down to a crucial 4th & 9 scenario on the Panorama 29-yard line. Herrera once again used his mobility to fight for a critical 11-yard gain for the first down, with the clock continuing to run. 

Osorio chose not to call a timeout, as Herrera ran the ball on the next three plays as the Wolves reached goal territory. The game was moving into the final seconds on a 2nd and Goal situation on the two-yard line, when Giron punched it in for the game-winning touchdown. Panorama head coach Adrian Beltran exploded in frustration towards the referees following the touchdown, as he attempted to yell for a timeout on the previous two plays without acknowledgement from the officials. Van Nuys successfully converted the two-point conversion attempt to seal the 43-36 victory. 

Giron and Herrera each discussed the importance of obtaining the win for their fellow seniors, along with the satisfaction of victory against their foes in the wake of what they went through a season earlier. “It was such a devastating loss”, Giron stated in the postgame interview, “We had to come back and show that we’re on top of this valley. We’ve got to keep fighting every single week”. 

Van Nuys finished their season with a 5-1 league record and a 9-1 record overall, as they prepared for a chance of redemption in the postseason. Panorama, now 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the league, will finish the regular season on Friday when they host the Sylmar Spartans.

All Photos by VST photographer David Martinez