The crowd wore black for the funeral.
The Samohi Vikings turned their heavily hyped “Blackout” Homecoming football game into a total bloodbath Friday night, steamrolling the winless Gardena Panthers 42-8.
It was an absolute hit job from the first play..
Vikings running back Saul Buendia opened the game with a physical 5-yard touchdown plunge to cap off an effortless opening drive. Moments later, defensive hawk Joshua Fernandez hijacked a panicked Gardena pass and took it 33 yards to the house for a pick-six, sending the home team fans into a complete frenzy.
Quarterback Gryffin Glowacki was quick to join the party, dropping a crisp 6-yard dart to Chandler Paysinger to build an insurmountable 21-0 cushion.
Touchdown, Josh Fernandez! | Video: Joe Montanez
Buendia kept twisting the knife in the second frame, unleashing a punishing ground attack. The senior back smashed his way into the end zone for two more short-yardage scores, capping off a stellar three-touchdown performance. Fernandez then showed off his two-way versatility, ripping off a nasty 20-yard rushing touchdown to balloon the lead to a staggering 42-0 at halftime.
Kicker Grey Broderick was an absolute machine, going a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points to complete the first-half routing.
Gardena finally scraped together a late fourth-quarter touchdown run by Kevin McKinney and a two-point conversion against Samohi’s reserves, but the damage was long done.
At 4-1 on the season, the high-flying Vikings aren’t just winning games—they’re leaving body bags in the rear-view mirror.
Samohi has next week off and will play Torrance at home on October 2.
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The Santa Monica Sun is your home for Westside high school football all season long. Stay up-to-date with scores and schedules on our varsity football main page and follow on @thesantamonicasun for real-time news updates.
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Featured Photo: Senior RB Saul Buendia | Photo: Aayan Lakhani @ion_lakhni
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