Football: Franklin wins City Section Division III championship

In a showdown of No. 2s, David Telles came out No. 1 in the City Section Division III final on Saturday at El Camino College in Torrance.

Telles caught two touchdown passes and also scored on a punt return to lead Franklin to the Division III championship with a 27-18 victory over Reseda.

Telles shook off two tacklers in the backfield on a 69-yard touchdown catch that gave the top-seeded Panthers (13-1) a 20-12 lead on the first play of the second half. Franklin won its fifth City crown and first since winning the 3A title in 1989.

Ja’lani Elison, who wears No. 2 like his Franklin counterpart, scored three touchdowns for the second-seeded Regents (11-3), the last on a 36-yard run that pulled Reseda to within 20-18 early in the third quarter.

Guillermo Cordova caught a 12-yard scoring pass from Mario Bobadilla to give Franklin a nine-point lead with 8:12 left and Daniel Celis intercepted a pass in the end zone to end the Regents’ subsequent drive.

Reseda took a 6-0 lead when Elison caught a 50-yard touchdown pass from Mike Martin III, who intercepted a pass at the goal line to end Franklin’s first drive. A 53-yard touchdown run by Elison made it 12-0 with 1:53 left in the first quarter.

Telles caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Bobadilla to pull the Panthers within 12-7 early in the second quarter. Telles returned a punt 50 yards for a touchdown to put Franklin ahead 13-12 with 1:55 left in the first half.

Reseda rushing leader Carlos Hernandez (17 touchdowns) sat out the game with a knee injury.