FRANKLIN SLIPS, SYLMAR SLIDES : SYLMAR 7, FRANKLIN 0.

Byline: Patrick Hipes Daily News Staff Writer

So, what do two of the best offensive teams in the City Section do when they meet?

They play defense, of course.

In the end, it was the No. 3 Sylmar High football team that played it the best, pushing away two major Franklin High chances down the stretch while shaking off a general offensive malaise of its own, holding on for a 7-0 victory Friday in a City Section 4-A second-round game at Sylmar High.

The win gives the Spartans (11-1) their 10th victory in a row and earns the four-seeded team a date with top-seeded Taft next Friday in a quarterfinal matchup at Taft High.

On a field that resembled a Slip-n-Slide more than a gridiron, the expected offensive fireworks came just once. The Spartans' Corey Neal returned a Franklin punt 68 yards for a touchdown just 1 minute, 57 seconds into the game.

For the remainder of the night, it was a battle between two defenses.

Franklin's held the Spartans without a first down for almost three quarters, while Sylmar responded by sacking highly-touted Panther quarterback Erik Garcia 10 times.

``It was a game played by two great defenses,'' Sylmar coach Jeff Engilman said. ``I can't take my hat off enough to our defense.''

Sylmar held Garcia, who had thrown for 41 touchdown passes and more than 2,600 yards entering the game, to 10 of 25 passing for 116 yards and two interceptions.

The last interception was the biggest. Sylmar's Errol Bowen snuck in front of Chris Jauregui at the Panthers' 41, returning for a would-be touchdown with 2:11 to play. A clipping penalty brought it back, but the Spartans were able to run out the clock.

It was the latest in an evening of frustration for Garcia, who relies on scrambling in the run-and-shoot scheme but more often, with the slippery turf, found himself run-and-falling.

``I think the difference was the field,'' the senior said. ``We couldn't do what we wanted to do offensively.''

Neither, for the most part, could the Spartans.

Two Sylmar fumbles helped Franklin hold the ball for the majority of the first half. Sylmar, which had outscored its opponents 357-73 before this game, had just 12 yards of offense before the intermission. The Spartans finished with a season-low 79 yards on offense.

Franklin (9-3) had its best chance to score the series before Bowen's interception. The Panthers had first and goal at the 9 with 4:51 left. Neal and Terrance Brant stopped receiver Daniel Gourdine after a catch at the 8.

``They're pretty good,'' Neal said. ``But we had to go out there and show them that, on our field, we are the best team.''

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Photo

PHOTO In a game dominated by defense, Franklin running back Oscar Serrano is sandwiched by three Sylmar tackers.

John Lazar / Special to the Daily News