In San Pedro and Wilmington, we call it the Battle of the Harbor. But to everyone at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Friday, October 18, 2024, it was called the Harbor Classic. On this night, San Pedro High School and Banning High provided both—a battle and a classic.
It all came down to the final play.
Once Banning scored their overtime touchdown, everyone in the vicinity knew the Pilots would not settle for the casual kick between the uprights. It was “no guts, no glory” time.
However, San Pedro called for a blitz package on the two-point conversion to stall Banning’s standout senior Steven Perez’s designed quarterback draw.
San Pedro held and celebrated a 34-33 triumph that earned the Pirates their first Marine League victory of 2024 and all but guarantees a berth in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division playoffs.
It was San Pedro’s sixth time playing in the home of the USC Trojans, improving their Coliseum lifetime record to 4-1-1.
Senior quarterback Marcus Jeronymo (3). (photo: John Mattera Photography)
San Pedro (6-3 overall, 1-2 league) started the extra session on offense. On a fourth-and-four situation from the Banning six-yard line, senior quarterback Marcus Jeronymo instinctively found junior wide receiver Elias Redlew for the go-ahead touchdown.
Sophomore kicker Dylan Moreno perfectly split the uprights for a 34-27 San Pedro edge, but as always in this rivalry, Banning (4-5, 0-3) quickly provided a rebuttal.
Junior QB/MLB Noah Tuvalu struck for a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior WR/DB Adrian Guzman. It brought the Pilots to within a single point, prompting the coaching staff to immediately put two fingers up, signifying they were going for the win.
It was a direct snap to Perez, but the Pirates’ defense, sparked by a surging senior RB/LB Pete Eneliko, junior linebacker K’Shawn Davis, senior linebacker Blake Spanjol, and senior defensive lineman Lorenzo Saluzzi, stood their ground for the game-winning stop.
Starting the game, both teams traded punts on their opening possessions, but San Pedro struck first with Eneliko’s 18-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead. Banning responded quickly with Perez’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Guzman to knot the score at 7 apiece.
RB/LB Pete Eneliko (4) dives for a touchdown. (photo: John Mattera Photography)
Right as the first quarter ended, a high punt snap by San Pedro provided the Pilots a bonus red zone opportunity, which they cashed in with Perez’s 10-yard quarterback draw run for a 13-7 lead on the first play of the second quarter but missed the extra point.
San Pedro’s offense then countered with an 8-play, 80-yard drive, regaining the lead at 14-13 on Jeronymo’s nine-yard touchdown strike to Redlew.
Perez’s goal-line jump pass touchdown to sophomore RB/LB Kody Galloway created another lead change. Still, Eneliko’s two-yard touchdown run capping off a 14-play, 90-yard drive gave San Pedro a 21-20 lead at halftime.
Senior cornerback Abe Radisic’s interception to start the third quarter led to a 27-yard field goal by Moreno, increasing San Pedro’s advantage to 24-20. On Banning’s next possession, senior OL/DL Krishna Moore made a pivotal stop on fourth down in San Pedro territory for a turnover on downs.
Moreno’s second field goal of 31 yards once again boosted the Pirates’ lead to 27-20, but with 6:41 showing on the fourth quarter clock, Tuvalu’s first of two touchdown strikes to Guzman evened things up again at 27.
San Pedro appeared to have retaken the lead on the ensuing kickoff with sophomore WR/DB Jaxon Brown’s 96-yard return, but offsetting penalties on both schools forced a do-over. Neither team threatened the other offensively for the remainder of regulation play.
San Pedro has won the last three meetings with Banning, and four out of the last five since the pandemic shutdown, now breaking ahead in the series at 44-41-3. spt
