As the first round of the CIF Los Angeles City Section D2 playoffs began on Friday night, the Sylmar Spartans faced off against the visiting Santee Falcons, defeating the visitors by a score of 50-20.

The Spartans scored a total of seven touchdowns on the night. Quarterback Tim Tanner Jr. contributed six total scores, including four of them via the run. Running back Elizeo Reyes was a factor as well, contributing three total touchdowns.

“Tim Tanner, obviously very special on the offensive side…” said head coach Evander Williams. “love the way the quarterback spreads the ball around.”

Santee started off the game strong, scoring on the second play of the game on a deep touchdown pass, putting pressure on the Spartans early.

Sylmar responded with 43 unanswered points, balancing an explosive offense with an aggressive defense, with Noe Aguilar leading the charge defensively.

“Special players play special, Noe Aguilar, number five, has been a dog for us all season on the defensive side.” said Williams.

Aguilar finished with two fumble recoveries and a crucial interception immediately after Sylmar’s opening touchdown. The turnover gave the Spartans an opportunity to score twice in just 1:20.

Sylmar quickly flipped the momentum, taking a 13-7 lead on Tanner’s second consecutive rushing touchdown.

When asked to expand upon the team’s mentality to not an early setback shake the players’ confidence, Williams said:

“It takes what we went through throughout the season to be at this spot. When things go bad to be able to respond back…It takes all that adversity.”

Sylmar started the season 1-3, they found their groove as league play started, winning five of their next six games, with their only loss coming against the undefeated Kennedy Golden Cougars.

Santee was forced to punt on its following drive and a bad snap resulted in a short punt for the Falcons, allowing Sylmar to start on the Santee 41-yard line.

Sylmar quickly took the ball to the 2-yard line, with Tanner scoring his third rushing touchdown of the night from there. A successful extra-point attempt brought the score to 20-7 for the Spartans.

Santee kept battling, advancing to Sylmar’s 32-yard line following a crucial fourth-down conversion. Facing a follow-up fourth-down opportunity, Falcons quarterback Edgar Antonio took a strong hit, and fumbled the ball into the hands of Aguilar.

Starting on its own 28, Sylmar used a 53-yard pass to Justin Lopez Arroyo to march down the field anbd set the Spartans up at Santee’s 5-yard line.

Tanner, showing a nice passing touch, connected with Payton Perez in the back corner of the end zone for a 5-yard passing touchdown.

Reyes converted the two-point attempt for Sylmar, rushing the ball into the end zone to bring the score to 28-7.

Santee gave the ball back to Sylmar immediately, thanks to an interception from Tanner.

He then connected with Reyes for a deep pass, bringing the offense to the Falcons 9-yard line on the first play of the drive.

Reyes scored his second touchdown of the night on a 1-yard rush. Another successful two-point conversion gave Sylmar a 36-7 lead with 7:09 remaining in the second quarter.

Sylmar then forced yet another turnover on Santee, recovering a fumble to regain possession on Santee’s 49-yard line.

“We are staying hungry, we are not content, nor are we satisfied with where we’re at. We have goals every single time we come out as a defense,” said Williams.

A Santee roughing-the-passer and unnecessary roughness call, gifted Sylmar 30 yards, bringing them up to the Falcons’ 13-yard line.

Tanner scored on a 13-yard rushing touchdown, continuing the blowout as the Spartans had increased the gap even more, up 43-7 after a successful extra-point attempt. That would be the score at halftime.

With a running clock now active, Santee would have limited time to make any sort of comeback.

The second half saw more success from Santee, building their first long drive of the night. After reaching the Sylmar 22, Antonio connected with Adan Chavarria for a passing touchdown to cut the lead to 43-13 following a missed extra point.

Sylmar wasted no time responding, as Reyes took a pass 49 yards to place the Spartan offense at the Santee 8.

After being backed up because of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Tanner was able to connect with Reyes once again, scoring on a 14-yard touchdown pass. Sylmar’s successful extra-point attempt brought the score to 50-13 with 11:30 left in the fourth quarter.

Santee’s offense took the ball on its own 33-yard line. Antonio’s ability to scramble and extend plays brought the Falcon offense deep into Sylmar territory.

Antonio targeted his receiver Tyson Williams, connecting on a 14-yard pass. This set up an impressive 17-yard touchdown catch from Williams, corralling the ball one-handed.

Santee’s extra-point attempt was successful, bringing the score to 50-20 with time running out.

Even with an onside kick recovery for the Falcons, there was not enough time left to mount a comeback and Sylmar advanced with the 50-20 victory.

Sylmar moves on to face their Valley Mission League rival Panorama Pythons in the next round, on Friday November 13. The Spartans will look to repeat its previous outcome versus the Pythons when a buzzer-beating touchdown gave Sylmar a 39-37 win.

All photos by VST photographer David Martinez