On Friday night in the city of San Fernando, the Tigers faced off against their bitter rival, the Van Nuys Wolves, each team looking to break ahead of the other as they both entered the game with identical 3-2 records on the young season.

The Wolves started the year strong, winning three of their first four games; however, a big loss last week to Kennedy had them looking flip back the momentum against the Tigers.

The Wolves scored first, looking energized and aggressive at the start of the second quarter, as senior Hector Gonzalez forced a fumble at the Tigers’ 16-yard line that was recovered teammate Sebastian Flores and returned to the opponent’s 5-yard line. This set up a 5-yard rushing touchdown by Raudel Sanchez to give Van Nuys the 6-0 lead.

The Tigers woke up the following drive after Kesean Leslie was able to return the kickoff to the opponent’s 46-yard line. This was just the beginning for Leslie, as he produced the next 16 yards for the Tigers over the next three plays, setting his team up at the opponent’s 30-yard line and a fresh set of downs.

A couple of key passes from quarterback Jayden Breazell set up Bryce Robinson, who scored on an impressive 11-yard rushing touchdown, bouncing outside after the Wolves plugged up any space to run inside. San Fernando took a 7-6 lead after converting their extra point.

As the first half approached its end, the Tigers built upon their momentum as Gerson Lopez sacked the Wolves’ quarterback, forcing Van Nuys to punt from their own 8-yard line.

Leslie returned the punt for a touchdown, eluding every defender standing in his way, imposing his presence as the Tigers took a 15-6 lead, converting on their two point conversion attempt.

“He’s definitely one of our best athletes,” said interim head coach Johnny Sanders when discussing Leslie. “His awareness and his vision are crazy.”

Van Nuys had a chance to score before the half ended. However, freshman quarterback Xavier Ruiz was hit by Luis Marrero as he threw, allowing Tru Trevino to intercept the pass, essentially ending the half.

The second half portrayed a similar story for the Tigers. After a made field goal by San Fernando, Leslie made an impact once again, creating space and running through contact for an eight-yard rushing touchdown that increased the lead to 25-6.

As Van Nuys attempted to convert a fourth down near midfield, Ruiz threw a prayer up that the familiar Kesean Leslie intercepted, returning it 48-yards for a pick-six as the San Fernando home crowd erupted. The lead was increased to 32-6 by the third quarters end after a made extra-point attempt.

There was no scoring in the fourth quarter as the Tigers’ offense focused on working the clock. Their defense continued to stifle the Wolves. Bryce Robinson, this time on the defensive side of the ball, made a big impact with a couple of tackles for loss, including a sack, to keep the hopeful Wolves at bay as the Tigers eventually came out victorious, improving their record to 4-2 on the season.

San Fernando was able to win by a large margin despite some minor errors, including botched snaps and a slow start to the game.

When asked about the teams large margin of victory despite these hiccups, Coach Sanders stated, “Makes me feel good… we’re gonna make sure we get healthy and watch film, we got two weeks to prepare for the next one.”

San Fernando will host the Panorama Pythons after their bye week, looking to capture their fifth straight victory.