Cleveland Ends Birmingham's Streak in Thrilling Showdown

LAKE BALBOA – For the first time since 2017, Birmingham has lost a regular-season game to a City Section opponent. How did Cleveland finally do it? It was a tale of two halves and the Cavaliers couldn’t have scripted the first one much better. Cleveland opened the game with a 16-play touchdown drive that chewed up nearly nine minutes off the clock. They followed that with a 14-play scoring drive to take a 14-0 lead with 6:43 remaining in the half.

Moyosoreoluwa Odebunmi, coming off a 200-yard masterpiece against Crenshaw, carried 16 times for 76 yards, a touchdown and a two-point conversion on Cleveland’s opening two drives. It was Cavalier football at its finest: methodical, physical.

A high school football player in a white uniform with the number 4 runs with the ball, evading a defender in a blue uniform on the field at night.

A football player in a white jersey, number 1, throwing a football on a field, with a referee in the background.

Birmingham, meanwhile, could barely keep its offense on the field. The Patriots ran just 13 offensive plays in the first half as Cleveland dominated time of possession. For a team accustomed to imposing its will on City Section opponents, Birmingham suddenly found itself on the other side of the equation.

There was a new bully in town. Cleveland’s brotherhood was doing the pushing.

A high school football game in progress, featuring players in blue and red uniforms. A player wearing number 6 in blue is running with the ball while being pursued by an opponent in red.

A high school football game scene with players in action; one player in a blue uniform is being tackled by a player in a white uniform while others look on.

At halftime, Birmingham head coach Jim Rose posed a simple question to his team. “We know what to do. Now, can we perform?” The Patriots’ answer was yes.

A Cleveland offense that piled up 179 yards in the first half was held to just one first down in the second, giving Birmingham a chance to turn the game around.

Two football players from opposing teams engage in a tackle, while other players and fans are visible in the background.

Two high school football players preparing for a play on the field; one is kneeling to hold the ball while the other is positioned to kick it, with teammates and spectators in the background.

Dante Diloretto’s 47-yard field goal cut the deficit to 14-3. Then the electric Paul Turner returned a Cleveland punt 38 yards to the Cavaliers’ 20.

A football player in a blue jersey, running with the ball on a green field, while a defender in a white jersey attempts to tackle him.

Freshman Exavier “X” Johnson rolled left and found junior Jayden Woolen for a six-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, but as the third quarter ended, Birmingham trailed just 14-9 and they had all the momentum.

A football player in a blue jersey with the number 3 throws a football while sprinting on a field at night, with a player in a white jersey wearing number 18 in the foreground.

A football player in a blue jersey leaps in celebration after catching the ball, while other players on the field look on. The background is filled with a cheering crowd under stadium lights.

Then came a fourth quarter that could best be described as a series of unfortunate events.

Trying to avoid kicking to the dangerous Turner, Cleveland turned to quarterback Julio “Chilo” Avalos for a trick punt. Avalos’ kick struck the back of his own lineman and traveled all of three yards, handing Birmingham the ball inside the Cavaliers’ 20 for golden opportunity No. 1.

A holding penalty on Birmingham’s first play helped stall the drive. This time Rose sent out junior Eddy Vigueras for the field goal. Cleveland junior Pedro Castaneda blocked it.

A football player kicking a ball during a game, with teammates and opponents in action in the background.

But, on the very next play, Cleveland fumbled the snap. Birmingham recovered at the Cavaliers’ 29. Golden opportunity No. 2.

This time the Patriots drove to the three-yard line, where they faced fourth-and-goal with 3:54 remaining in the game. Rose kept the offense on the field. Junior Carlos Gomez came up with the biggest defensive play of the night, sacking Daniel Kakooza and giving Cleveland the ball back.

A football play in progress, with players from two teams. A player in a white uniform numbered 18 is running with the ball, while a blue uniformed player numbered 7 attempts to tackle him. Other players are positioned nearby, and the scene is set on a football field under stadium lights.

A football player wearing a white uniform with red and black accents runs with the ball on a green field, dodging a defender lying on the ground.

The Cavaliers appeared to finally put the game away when Shiloh Wickliffe broke loose on a 58-yard reverse with 1:55 remaining. Birmingham’s defense had other ideas. The Patriots stuffed Cleveland from there and forced another punt.

Once again, Cleveland lined up in its trick-punt formation. Avalos tried to angle a pooch punt toward the sideline from the Birmingham 32. It came off the side of his foot, netting one yard.

But, with less than 30 seconds remaining, Kakooza scrambled near midfield, looking to keep Birmingham’s final chance alive. The ball was stripped. Gomez was right there to recover. Finally, it was over.

A football player in blue and gold is being tackled by two opposing players in red and white during a game on a turf field.

A high school football player in a white jersey throws a football while being pursued by opposing players. Two teammates support him as the referee signals a call on the field.

“We had our chances to win it. And we couldn’t finish,” Rose said. “False starts, taking a sack on fourth down. Those things in this kind of game can’t happen.”

It wasn’t pretty, but for Cleveland head coach Mario Guzman, that hardly mattered. “I told the kids: great first half, but we got out of our brand of disciplined ball in the second half,” Guzman said. “The mistakes really backed us up. Hats off to my defense. Those guys absolutely dominated tonight.”

Perhaps even more impressive is how Cleveland has maintained its perfect run without their on-field general, Dominik Fuentes, who was injured against Franklin.

The Cavaliers have gone on the road to face their toughest opponents in consecutive weeks while relying on their capable backup, Avalos. “Dominik will be back in a week or two,” Guzman said.

Until then, that Cleveland brotherhood keeps finding ways to win. Friday night, the Cavaliers didn’t just find a way. They slayed the dragon.

all photos by Benjamin Becher