Granada Hills Follows Form by Upsetting Carson for Title

Was Granada Hills High School’s 27-14 win over Carson for the City 4-A football championship Friday night a big upset, or were the Highlanders merely continuing a recent trend?

For the fifth straight year, the team that won in the regular season lost in the rematch when the title was on the line. The rundown:

--1987: Carson wins the regular-season game, 42-14, but Granada Hills wins the championship.

--1986: Banning of Wilmington wins the regular-season game, 37-10, but Carson wins the championship, 21-11.

--1985: Carson wins the regular-season game, 6-0, but Banning wins the championship, 31-6.

--1984: Banning wins the regular-season game, 28-7, but Carson wins the championship, 33-20.

--1983: Carson wins the regular-season game, 14-12, but Banning wins the championship, 30-29.

This also happened the last time Granada Hills, led by quarterback Dana Potter, won the title. In 1970, Anthony Davis and San Fernando won the regular-season finale, 40-15, then lost to the Highlanders in the final, 38-28.

Friday night’s game at East Los Angeles College also marked the second consecutive year that an undefeated team, ranked high in the national polls, was upset.

“It’s like Banning last year,” Carson quarterback George Malauulu said. “We came in sky high and then dropped dead.”