MCCLEARY, PATRIOTS, RUN ROUGHSHOD OVER S.F. BIRMINGHAM 43, S. FERNANDO 12.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

Kevin McCleary turned Thursday's matchup between two undefeated teams, Birmingham and San Fernando, into a laugher, although nobody on the Tigers' sideline found it humorous.

McCleary rushed for 223 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries as the Patriots pounded the Tigers in a 43-12 nonleague victory at Birmingham High.

Both teams came into the game with 3-0 records, but after the first quarter, little doubt remained as to which team would exit with a 4-0 record.

San Fernando marched to the Patriots' 26 on the first series of the game, but turned the ball over on downs and turned the game over to Birmingham - for good.

McCleary ran for 53 yards on the Patriots' first offensive snap and Birmingham scored two plays later on a 2-yard run by D'Andre Sewell.

The Patriots, who averaged 34 points in their first three weeks, displayed an efficient offense against San Fernando. They needed just five more offensive plays to extend to a 14-0 lead on McCleary's 4-yard run with :46 left in the first quarter.

Birmingham's offense wasn't complicated, but it didn't have to be. McCleary had the power to bust through the Tigers' defensive line and the speed to run away from the secondary. Sewell added 100 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.

Quarterback Scott Jensen connected on four of his first five attempts, including an 11-yard scoring pass three minutes into the second quarter to put Birmingham up 21-0. Jensen misfired on his next 10 attempts and finished 6 of 17 for 65 yards.

The Patriots scored again on a 28-yard run by McCleary and the final two minutes of the second quarter featured one of the more bizarre sequences in recent memory.

San Fernando, trailing 29-0 and trying to get some type of momentum, moved the ball to the Birmingham 44 on a 34-yard completion from Ruben Nevarez to Ramon Perry. Not only did a holding penalty and an incomplete pass have the Tigers facing third-and-26, San Fernando then jumped offside on four consecutive plays.

On fourth-and-46, Birmingham's John Walker intercepted Nevarez's pass into triple coverage, but Shane Silver missed a 28-yard field goal to keep the halftime score at 29-0.

Birmingham shut down the Tigers' rushing game early - Will German finished with 14 yards on eight carries - and forced Nevarez to throw often into tight Birmingham coverage.

The only remaining drama was whether the Tigers would score in the second half. They got the ball on the Patriots' 15 following a McCleary fumble on the first play of the third quarter but couldn't score, as Nevarez's pass was tipped away in the end zone on fourth down at the Birmingham 3.

San Fernando scored on the first play of the fourth quarter on a 15-yard pass from Nevarez to Perry. The duo connected later in the quarter on a 21-yard scoring strike.

McCleary capped his big night with a 30-yard touchdown run three minutes into the fourth quarter.