The562’s football coverage for the 2026-27 school year is sponsored by Long Beach Poly alums Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
The Compton football team was quietly confident heading into their quarterfinal contest against San Marino.
Edward Rivera left no doubt Friday night as the senior running back rushed for 333 yards and had nearly 100 receiving yards scoring five touchdowns as Compton defeated San Marino 53-17 in the CIF Southern Section Division 9 quarterfinals.
“It feels good,” Rivera said of his dominant night. “But first things first, I want to take my own line for, you know, doing all the dirty work for me. Honestly, if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be where I am now.”
Rivera made his presence felt on his second carry of the game – a 52-yard touchdown to give the Tarbabes a 7-0 lead less than 30 seconds into the game.
Compton’s defense followed that with their own highlight as Tasai Parker picked off Parker Wilson to give the ball right back to the offense.
However, with a steady downpour both teams struggled on a couple of snaps as they traded punts, but San Marino eventually added a field goal to cut Compton’s lead to 7-3.
That’s when freshman quarterback Nate Ramirez showed great poise in his first varsity start as he led the offense down the field on the next drive. After finding Jay’Rome Norwood for a 37-yard reception, Ramirez found Trevon Fair on a screen play and he went the distance for a 44-yard touchdown to give the Tarbabes a 14-3 lead with 2:46 left in the first quarter.
“I thought our game plan was excellent,” Compton coach Calvin Bryant said. “This last couple of weeks we played really well. We watched film and a good plan together that our guys believe in, and we’ve been able to execute. So it’s been great.”
Parker came up big again with his second interception of the quarter and the Tarbabes have the ball back at their own 3-yard line.
“We give teams to worry about our defense,” Parker said. “We make things very uncomfortable for teams. So teams need to know we’re going to be aggressive.”
With their heels on their goal line, Compton lined up in the Wing T Formation and Rivera found a hole and got loose for a 97-yard touchdown to take a 20-3 lead with five seconds left in the first.
However, San Marino’s Chase Mena answered right back as he took the ensuing kickoff return for a 95-yard touchdown to cut Compton’s lead to 20-9.
Compton continued to be balanced offensively despite sporadic rain as Ramirez led the offense down the field and connected with Rivera as the Tarbabes pushed the lead to 26-11.
“He’s amazing, you know, but as a freshman, he’s special,” Rivera said about Ramirez. “He’s really special.”
Ramirez’s big night continued as he connected with Ronnie Mixon for two touchdowns as he threw for 300 yards and finished the game with five touchdown passes.
With a running clock heading into the fourth quarter, Compton got their starters some rest as they will now prepare for the semifinals when the Tarbabes will travel to Moreno Valley next Friday.
