ALL TOO REAL BIRMINGHAM REGALES IN STUNNING TRIUMPH.Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer Brian The name Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan) comes from an Irish backround. It is of Celtic origin and its meaning may be "hill" or "strong, noble, and high"[1]. Baylor Bay·lor , Elgin Born 1934. American basketball player. He was a forward for the Minneapolis and Los Angeles Lakers from 1958 to 1971 and ranks among the all-time National Basketball Association leaders in points and per-game scoring average. didn't sleep much Friday night. He finally nodded off in the wee hours of the morning only to awaken and figure Birmingham High's City Section title was only a dream. In a way, it was. ``I couldn't believe it,'' Baylor said. ``I thought the game would be down to the last point. But we kept our heads in the game. We continued to dominate until the last second.'' Underdog Birmingham of Lake Balboa Balboa, town (1990 pop. 2,751), Colón prov., in the former Panama Canal Zone, on the Gulf of Panama. The port for Panama City, Balboa was the administrative headquarters of the Panama Canal Zone. It was also the site of a U.S. navy base (closed 1999). not only defeated Taft of Woodland Hills at the Coliseum Coliseum: see Colosseum. on Friday, it manhandled the top-seeded team 35-7. It was Taft's worst nightmare. Birmingham, which finished the season 11-3, scored in droves and had a 28-0 lead before Taft knew what happened. The Patriots weren't even supposed to be in this game, let alone win it. Birmingham coach Ed Croson struggled to devise a game plan to contain Taft's contingent of skill players. ``I still cant believe it,'' said Croson, who managed about four hours sleep Saturday morning. ``I couldn't figure out how we were going to stop all their guys.'' Turns out Taft couldn't figure out how to stop Birmingham's players. Running back Dennis Keyes had 133 rushing yards and Baylor, who shared the workload The term workload can refer to a number of different yet related entities. An amount of labor While a precise definition of a workload is elusive, a commonly accepted definition is the hypothetical relationship between a group or individual human operator and task demands. because Keyes had been ill most of the week, had 94 rushing yards and two touchdowns - one receiving. Taft had four turnovers and managed just 28 rushing yards. ``Seems like all that could go wrong did go wrong,'' Taft receiver Paul Pratt said. ``We couldn't get a break. They jumped on us and punched us in the mouth and we just never recovered from that. We had some chances but we couldn't take advantage and every bounce 1. bounce - (Perhaps by analogy to a bouncing check) An electronic mail message that is undeliverable and returns an error notification (a "bounce message") to the sender is said to "bounce". 2. bounce - To play volleyball. The now-demolished D. C. went their way. That's how it goes sometimes.'' Many Birmingham players celebrated with friends and family. Keyes, who had been ill all week, went home and went to bed. Croson went out for dinner with family and friends. And on Saturday, he said he fielded a slew of congratulatory con·grat·u·late tr.v. con·grat·u·lat·ed, con·grat·u·lat·ing, con·grat·u·lates To express joy or acknowledgment, as for the achievement or good fortune of (another). phone calls. ``It was so nice,'' Croson said. ``People have been calling me from all over the place. Not that he minds. Success comes when you play a tough schedule and improve throughout the year. The Patriots lost two non-league games early on, but they were to Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, which won the Southern Section Division III
Division III (or DIII) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States. championship Friday night, and Hart of Newhall, which lost in the Division II final. ``There's no doubt the schedule we played this year prepared us for this game,'' receiver Chad Green Chad Elton Green (Born: June 28, 1975 in Dunkirk, New York) is a former switch-hitting, righthanded minor league baseball player. An outfielder, he attended Mentor High School and then the University of Kentucky. said. ``To start the season off with Notre Dame, San Pedro and Hart was good. Those are three excellent teams. Playing them really prepared us for everything we faced this year, including this game right here.'' Birmingham's victory - its first title since 1963 - should have even more benefits for the program. This year, Birmingham had just 15 freshmen out for football. Keyes, linebacker Eric Ochoa O·cho·a , Severo 1905-1993. Spanish-born American biochemist. He shared a 1959 Nobel Prize for work on the biological synthesis of nucleic acids. and Green all played together on the freshman team. They won one game as ninth-graders. ``Four years ago, I could've never predicted this, considering where we were as a program at that point,'' Green said. ``It was pretty bad around here. And to see things develop like they have and for everything to come together to win the championship my senior year, you can't ask for a better way to end your high school career.'' And Croson couldn't ask for a better way to get kids to come out for football than to entice them with visions of City Section titles. ``It will take a little longer (to become a power) but in a couple years we'll be a real strong program,'' Croson said. ``We have a great situation here. We have a great facility. We have a super student body. I'm excited. We've worked hard for this.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Birmingham players celebrate their upset over previously undefeated Taft on Friday. John Lazar/Staff Photographer |
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