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Locke Stops Martin and Jefferson, 14-13

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

There they were, normally the best of friends, but now pitted against each other, guessing what the other might do on a crucial fourth-quarter play.

It was Locke High Coach E.C. Robinson who guessed right when his team stopped Jefferson running back Najiya Martin short of the goal line on an extra-point attempt with less than five minutes left in the game to help seal the Saints’ 14-13 victory over the Democrats Friday at Locke.

“We knew they were going try the fake [kick],” Robinson said. “I know him. He’s one of my best friends, and I knew he was never going to settle for the tie.”

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Jefferson Coach Hank Johnson said the fake was unintentional.

“It was a bad snap,” Johnson said. “You could have timed it with a calendar.”

That was the last time Jefferson touched the ball.

Locke, 2-1 overall and 2-0 in the City Section’s Southeastern Conference, took over and was able to run out the clock after running back Donte King made a crucial first down with 1:14 left.

King also intercepted a pass from Jefferson’s Jimmy Ray Brown and returned it 84 yards for Locke’s second touchdown in the first quarter.

Locke’s first touchdown came a three-yard run by George Finau that capped a 73-yard drive kept alive by a successful fake punt Wayne Johnson.

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For the Democrats, it was the second time in two weeks that they played a bigger and quicker team and made a game of it. They lost to San Fernando two weeks ago, 35-29.

Against Locke, the Democrats (1-1, 1-2) cut Locke’s lead to one point on a 42-yard touchdown run by Martin. Before that, Locke had contained the 5-foot-2, 130-pound Martin, who finished with 107 yards in 14 carries.

On Jefferson’s final drive, Martin spun, stutter-stepped, and dove to gain four yards. It wasn’t the yardage but how he fought for them that seemed to inspire his teammates and change the momentum of the game.

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Said Coach Johnson: “He plays like a giant. He could make a defender miss in a phone booth.”

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