The excitement of Game 1 of the World Series enveloped the crowd as halftime arrived at the 89th East LA Classic football game at SoFi Stadium.
Moments after Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam and the 15,804 people in the stands erupted, footage of it appeared on the videoboard as each team headed to its locker room. The Black Eyed Peas performed with the help and talent of Garfield and the Roosevelt High band. And the cheerleaders.
Peas member Tabu Nawasha’s mother went to Garfield, and William Adams, better known by his artist name Will.i.am, is connected to the Bulldogs’ opposition through his mother, who attended Roosevelt.
“I went there to help Garfield’s side,” Nawasha said. “I stuck with Roosevelt,” will.i.am exclaimed to his bandmates.
Like the band itself, Roosevelt and Garfield’s mariachi band strummed out tunes on the second-floor concourse, no matter who the audience represented, at the Black Eyed Peas’ halftime show. -The Los Angeles and Boyle Heights celebration was on full display in Inglewood. — featuring “Let’s Get It Started” and “I Gotta Feeling,” which energized the already deafeningly loud LA fans. Garfield (7-2, 5-0) defeated Roosevelt (3-6, 1-4) by a score of 38-28.
“These guys are getting this opportunity, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Garfield coach Lorenzo Hernandez, who the Rams named high school coach of the week, said after the game. “You can tell a lot about the stadium and about the crowd that came out to support the city. I wish I had played.”
Bulldogs quarterback Robert Cedillo’s career-high four touchdown passes gave the Bulldogs room to win after a 20-17 deficit in the third quarter. .
“A lot of people don’t get this opportunity on a really big stage. It felt really good,” said the 6-foot-1 junior.
With 3:14 left in the third quarter, sophomore running back Cesar Reyes scored a 2-yard touchdown run, giving Garfield a lead it would never relinquish. In the fourth quarter, Reyes dashed 24 yards into the left corner of the end zone for his second touchdown and his 20th of the season, giving the Bulldogs a 38-20 lead.
“I’ve wanted to play in a pro stadium my whole life,” Reyes said. “I can’t wait because I want to go pro one day. I know it’s going to happen.”
In the second game of the day (the first was junior varsity), Garfield’s flag football team earned its first win against Roosevelt in the East LA Classic contest.
Bulldogs senior quarterback Jada Barnes held up the trophy and ran through a banner that read, “Warning: Rosie Hunting Ahead.” She and the Bulldogs hunted.
“I think it’s really great to come out here and show what our team can do,” said Burns, who led the Bulldogs to a 62-0 victory, their first win over the Rough Riders. , the biggest win in program history. “We put on a show for the community.”
As the clock neared 11 p.m., and even though the program’s third straight loss to Garfield was confirmed, Roosevelt coach Ernesto Ceja was reminiscing about the previous game, saying his team was on the turf of the Chargers and Rams. I couldn’t help but be grateful for the opportunity to play. Coached.
“It’s a dream come true, isn’t it?” he said.
