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Pacific’s Aiden Johnson is tackled by San Bernardino’s Manuel Rodriguez during a game at San Bernardino HS stadium on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
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Pacific’s Aiden Johnson is tackled by San Bernardino’s Manuel Rodriguez during a game at San Bernardino HS stadium on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
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SAN BERNARDINO — The Pacific High of San Bernardino football team is unbeaten after not having a varsity team last season. The Pirates defeated rival San Bernardino 14-7 on Friday night in a Mountain Valley League opener.
Pacific freshman Brelyn Walker saw a Cardinal ballcarrier loosely clutching the ball and snatched it away with 7:14 left in the game to halt a Cardinal drive.
“I saw everyone wrapping him up, but he had the ball out and I could see it and I went for it,” Walker said. “It felt great. If we didn’t get it, they might have had a chance to score.”
Pacific fumbled the ball back to San Bernardino near midfield with 4:54 remaining. The Cardinals eventually faced a fourth-and-12, but Adrian Southwood was stopped five yards short of a first down. The Pirates ran out the clock shortly after.
Though a victory bell and trophy have been affiliated with the rivalry in the past, neither was present Friday night. The Pirates (5-0) had to be content with just a victory.
“I’m not happy about it at all,” said Burries, who is the older brother of former Pacific basketball superstar Bobby Burries (Ernie also starred in football and basketball at Pacific). “We played sloppy and overconfident offensive football. The defense played great. We played lights out defensively.”
Burries said the key for the defense was stopping the running of San Bernardino quarterback Randy Mendez and big running back Southwood, who entered the game with 296 yards in four games.
The Pirates held Southwood to 63 yards and Mendez to 51.
Pacific recovered four fumbles, with Walker, DJ Foley, Carlos Padron and Perez each making a recovery. Also, Trevor Pettigrew intercepted a pass.
Pacific was not at full strength. Burries said four players who were forced to observe a sit-out period after transferring will become eligible next week, and all of them could start.
Offensively, Darron Haywood led the way for Pacific, rushing for 72 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries.
Pacific quarterback Ryan Cooper had the other Pirate TD on a 1-yard run but only completed 7 of 17 passes for 66 yards.
On the opposite side of the field, first-year San Bernardino coach Jason Williams complimented the Cardinals for their grit after they kept the pressure on Pacific the entire game.
San Bernardino even took an early lead, 7-0, after Southwood’s 2-yard run with 4:45 left in the first quarter. The score was set up by Mendez’s 66-yard pass to Kevin Alonzo.
“The kids played hard and they left it all out on the field,” Williams said. “I couldn’t ask for more from them. For an 0-4 team going in against a 4-0 team, a lot of people didn’t give us a chance, but we played right with them.”
The teams meet again in another MVL game on Oct. 17 at Pacific.
Burries is enjoying his stint so far as the Pacific coach, as befits a guy with a 5-0 record. He came to his alma mater by way of Cajon, where he assisted current Cowboy coach Nick Rogers.
“They always knew I was going to return to Pacific,” Burries said of Cajon. “Once I saw there was no program last year (due to a lack of players), I thought, ‘Why not take a chance on it?’ There were a lot of doubters and people saying it was a dead-end job. But the administration supported me, and I got on campus (as an educational specialist) and got the kids to start buying in. And we have some guys that are coming next week that will shock you.”
Included is big lineman George Pulu from Bishop Montgomery in Torrance, who has a hardship waiver. Bishop Montgomery forfeited its 2025 football season after a booster admitted to paying some players’ families.
