IN THE END, IT'S ECR IN CITY WRESTLING FINAL; HEAVYWEIGHT PEREZ'S 11-9 WIN DECIDES MATCH.

Byline: Gerry Gittelson Daily News Staff Writer

Undersized Alex Perez defeated heavyweight Julius Askew 11-9 to propel El Camino Real High to a dramatic 31-26 L.A. City Section team wrestling win that came down to the last match Thursday at El Camino Real.

Perez's triumph before a breathless overflow crowd capped a comeback that saw the Conquistadores win three in a row to offset a 26-16 deficit.

``This is what it's all about,'' said Perez (22-6), who lifted El Camino Real to its second consecutive L.A. City title and fourth in seven years. ``This team just showed so much heart tonight after starting out slow. It feels great.''

Askew, at 233, outweighed Perez by almost 50 pounds but could not take advantage. His aggressive, bullying charges simply did not intimidate Perez.

``I knew I had to win, but I just didn't pull through,'' Askew said. ``Of course, I'm disappointed. He had the speed on me and he got good angles.''

An Askew win would have given San Fernando a one-point victory. He jumped ahead 2-0 on the match's first takedown but fell behind 4-3 after the first two-minute period, then 9-5 after the second. An Askew escape early in the final stanza closed the gap to 9-6 but Perez soon followed with his fourth takedown to up the advantage to 11-6, a deficit Askew could not overcome.

``I did what I had to do,'' said Perez, who also out-pointed Askew a week ago (5-3), when San Fernando beat El Camino 34-31 on the same mat, making the Tigers favorites to unseat the reigning champions.

``Our team worked hard,'' El Camino coach Terry Fischer said. ``Plus, I think San Fernando had an off night.''

The Tigers were expected to pile up more points in the early going, since their strength is the lower-weight classes. But two-time City champion Andy Moro (135 pounds) was the only Tiger to record a pin, flattening Ryan Lewis in 3 minutes, 53 seconds.

Down 26-16, Jamar Cargo (189) gave the Conquistadores a lift by pinning Noe Ramirez in 2:59, followed by 215-pound John Grogan's pin of David Ortiz to give El Camino Real a 28-26 lead.

But since each decision counts for a minimum of three points, it all came down to Perez versus Askew. San Fernando supporters screamed ``Julius, Julius!'' while El Camino Real fans roared ``Alex, Alex!''

Arthur Lucero came through with the only other El Camino Real pin over Jose Ramirez at 145 pounds, cutting San Fernando's lead to 19-12. El Camino Real's Keith Thomas (152) followed with a 10-0 major decision (four points) over Anthony Rico, scissoring the margin to 19-16.

San Fernando then rallied behind consecutive wins by Anthony Mendoza (over Eugene Korchmoner at 160) and Juan Gutierrez (over Anthony Thomas at 171), pushing the lead back to 26-16 before El Camino Real's final rally.

``We had our best lineup tonight,'' Lucero said. ``We weren't overconfident, but we knew we were better than them.''

Edward Lemus (119) and Moshe Levi (130) provided El Camino with its first two wins. San Fernando's Rick Aguirre (103), Adrian Orozco (112), Joe Hernandez (125) and Eddie Moro (140) also posted victories.

In earlier action, Canoga Park heavyweight Edgar Cardona pinned Monroe's George Chavez to give the Hunters a come-from-behind 42-39 third-place win. Cardona improved to 10-4 with 10 pins.

Chatsworth topped University 60-17 to place fifth in the section.

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Photo: San Fernando's Andy Moro (top) put El Camino Real's Ryan Lewis on his back for a pin in the 135-pound division, but ECR won the City Section title in the final match of the showdown.

David Sprague/Daily News