Article by Julio Nievas. Photos by Stephen Dachman.

Long Beach Wilson senior quarterback Andrew Perez’s late fourth quarter touchdown drive capped off a 28-23 victory against visiting Paramount High as the Bruins improve their overall record to 2-2.

Perez’s drive was aided by senior wideout Garion Manning, who caught a crucial seven-yard pass to start the drive, then hauled in a 45-yard pass from Perez on third down with 1:58 remaining in the game. After a pass interference penalty by the Pirates in the end zone, Perez threw his fourth touchdown to senior Solomon Williams, which was the winning score.

Perez ended his game with 20 of 30 passes caught amassing 345 passing yards, four touchdowns and an interception.

The Pirates were down in the scoreboard through three and a half quarters before defensive back Jeremy Swan intercepted a pass from Perez in the fourth quarter.  Pirates’ kicker Richard Valencia kicked a 25-yard field goal to rally to a 23-21 lead.

After the Wilson touchdown gave them a 28-23 lead, the Pirates were poised to score another touchdown with 1:05 remaining. The Bruins defense stifled the Pirates offense and forced a fumble in the Pirates closing drive. The Bruins recovered, which seemingly ended the game.

The Bruins defense was led by their linebackers, who only allowed two passes under 10 yards against Pirates quarterback Larry Hill. 

The Bruins offense, led by Perez, displayed a great performance by their receiving corps.  Manning had 97 total receiving yards. Walter Cook had 55 receiving yards and Alex Fitzhugh had 41 receiving yards, various Bruin players also received the ball as Perez distributed it around. Williams only had 12 yards receiving, but was Wilson’s biggest red zone threat as he caught two touchdowns from Perez.

The Wilson Bruins have a bye week next week, but will face Millikan on October 8 at 7 p.m.