Mayfair Turns Tide, Defeats La Mirada

For more than 23 of the first 24 minutes of the Southern Section Division VI title game on Friday, La Mirada dominated Lakewood Mayfair. Then came 17 seconds that changed Mayfair history.

Dante Bradford threw a screen pass to Jimmy Manley that gained 42 yards, then heaved a 30-yard touchdown pass as time expired to Eric Camarillo. Suddenly, neither team was the same, and Mayfair carried the momentum to a 22-9 victory in front of 8,000 at Cerritos College in the Division VI final.

Those two plays accounted for 72 of Mayfair’s 115 yards, compared to La Mirada’s 201. And they signaled the beginning of the comeback, cutting the Monsoons deficit to 9-7.

La Mirada (11-2), which defeated Mayfair earlier this season, 28-0, gained only 34 yards in the second half.

The victory by Mayfair (11-3) was its ninth in a row, providing its first championship since defeating La Mirada for the 1998 Division IX title.

La Mirada dominated the first half, with Vaca rushing for 123 yards in 21 carries, setting up quarterback Chris Moreno’s seven-yard run in the first quarter and Jarred Martin’s 35-yard field goal in the second for a 9-0 lead.

But Mayfair salvaged the first half with its two big plays, capping an 85-yard drive in 59 seconds. And then came the second half, and the Monsoons lived up to their name.

Brandon Thomas recovered a fumbled punt at the Mayfair 22, and Jimmy Manley, who rushed 21 times for 65 yards, scored from the one. Leroy Driscoll caught a two-point conversion from Bradford, and Mayfair had a 15-9 lead with 11:56 left to play.