Fremont Sacks City’s Top Seed

For the second week in a row, Fremont High needed a defensive stop on the last play of the game to secure a victory. And once again, defensive end Alberto Vega answered the call.

Vega sacked Van Nuys Birmingham quarterback Scott Jensen as time expired Wednesday night to preserve Fremont’s 24-21 victory over the top-seeded Patriots in a City Section quarterfinal at Birmingham.

“I was trying to go outside the tackle and I saw the quarterback right there,” said Vega, who wrapped up Franklin quarterback Narciso Diaz last week to end the Pathfinders’ first-round victory. “It was easy to bring him down. It feels real good.”

In a semifinal next week, the Pathfinders (9-2) will play Dorsey (8-3), a 20-14 winner over Westchester on Wednesday.

Birmingham (10-1) trailed 17-0 late in the third quarter but rallied with two quick touchdowns to make it 17-14 early in the fourth.

The teams traded touchdowns before Birmingham got the ball back on its own 34 with 50 seconds to play. Jensen completed an 11-yard pass to move the ball to midfield with 10 seconds left, but his next pass fell incomplete. Vega, a senior, registered Fremont’s sixth sack of Jensen on the final play.

Fremont’s Milvon James rushed for a game-high 126 yards and a touchdown in 26 carries, and Mark Bradford had 87 yards and a touchdown in 10 carries.

Jensen completed 11 of 17 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown for Birmingham.