With public opinion stacked against it in a game nobody thought it could win, the East team pulled off a stunning upset Sunday, coming from seven points down to defeat the heavily favored West 9-7 in the 12th annual Daily News East-West All-Star Game in front of of 4,200 at Birmingham High in Lake Balboa.
The West featured a glittering roster that included several of California's top players, but the East made the plays. With its no-name defense and nothing-to-lose mentality, the East limited the West to 129 yards and recovered three West fumbles.
The East held the event's marquee star, Birmingham's Milton Knox, to zero yards rushing on 12 carries, and did not allow a West first down in the second half.
Kyle Strazerri of Alemany of Mission Hills kicked a 34-yard field goal with just over four minutes remaining to make it 9-7, and from that point the West continued to kill itself with penalties, finishing with 12 infractions for minus-134 yards.
"We all believed we could do it, and we did,\" Strazerri said.
Hart of Newhall's B.R. Holbrook earned game MVP honors, completing 9of 17 passes for 106 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown to Alemany's Jonathon Mesa.
"It was tough putting the team together in one week and not having any film or anything like that," Holbrook said. "We got a little lucky, and our defense played solid all game. It's always fun being the underdog."
The game started out just the way everyone expected, as the West's Graham Wilbert (Valencia) passed 45 yards to D.J. Stephens (Kennedy of Granada Hills) on the first play, followed two plays later with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Austin Shanks (Crespi of Encino) for a quick 7-0 lead.
Holbrook's touchdown pass to Mesa two series later pulled the East to within one point, but Strazerri missed the extra point, and the scored remained 7-6 until Strazerri's fourth-quarter field goal.
Strazerri said he was hoping for a chance to redeem himself.
"I blew it the first time, so it was exciting to hit that field goal," he said.
East coach Jason Bornn from Saugus called it the most gratifying victory of his 19-year career.
"It ain't the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog," Bornn said.
"These kids were so classy and so outstanding. They'll remember this win the rest of their lives, and today they can take it and build on it because now they know they can do anything.
"No one gave us a chance, but our kids really came together and beat a very athletically gifted team. Milton Knox, Austin Shanks, (Reseda's) Giovannie Dixon. It didn't matter to us."
The West had its chances. With time running down in the third quarter, Monroe of North Hills' Chris Andrade intercepted a pass and returned it 48 yards to the East 17. The West eventually worked its way to the 4, but instead of kicking a field goal, the West went for it on fourth down and Knox was stopped.
"It's hard because we lost, but we tried our best," Andrade said. "That's how it goes sometimes. You win some, you lose some."
Andrade, a linebacker who was one of the few unknowns of the West starters, was named West MVP.
"I had a chip on my shoulder because I didn't get a scholarship, so I had to show everyone I could play," Andrade said.
Earlier in the week, East punter/quarterback Jelani Blunt of Eagle Rock was one of the few who predicted the West would not have an easy time.
"I knew this would happen," Blunt said. "We worked hard, we all showed up for practice, and played hard once we got here, while the West just talked a bunch of smack."