King/Drew Wins First Open Division Game in School History Against Birmingham

It was a rainy night in Van Nuys, California as No.4 seed Birmingham hosted No. 5 King/Drew in a CIF LA City Section Open Division Quarterfinal matchup.

King/Drew’s athleticism would prove to be too much for a Birmingham defense that struggled to contain the run and stop big plays.

King/Drew’s 36-15 victory over Birmingham is the first Open Division win in King/Drew’s short 5-year football history, marking good progress for Head Coach, Joe Torres and also a changing of the guard in the City Section.

Run Heavy First Half

With the rain beginning to pour down as kickoff arrived, the first half was filled with both teams trying to establish a run game. The run game would be established on both sides.

The score would be 13-7 going into halftime as Birmingham would end the second quarter with a touchdown. As the rain slowed down in the second half, both teams would open up and begin to throw the ball.

This is where the biggest differentiating factor between the two teams would show up.

Quarterback Trouble for Birmingham

With the game opened up in the second half and Birmingham forced to pass the ball, it was clear that their quarterback troubles they have had all season were coming back to haunt them.

The Patriots had been rotating quarterbacks for the majority of the regular season but ultimately decided to convert Senior Delvin Young, who was originally a Safety, to quarterback.

The Patriots could never get going on offense as the game began to slip away in the second half.

With the score 23-15, Senior athlete Jemari Holt would run a touchdown to make the score 30-15 with 4 minutes left in regulation.

Any hope of a miracle for Birmingham would be sapped away after a fumble, their second of the night, would ensue on their following offensive drive giving King/Drew great field position.

Junior wide receiver Darr Muhammed, who played at LA Cathedral his freshman year, caught a touchdown in the endzone to ice the game and make the final score 36-15.

Q4 01:50 City Section Open Division Playoffs: Birmingham - 15 King/Drew - 36
‘28 Darr Muhammad with a BIG catch to seal to the game. — @latsondheimer @Tarek_Fattal

cc:@1CoachesCorner pic.twitter.com/l0gcLH9IyP
— City Section News (@LACitySection) November 14, 2026

A Different Landscape in LA City Section

The outcome of this matchup marks significant change in the LA City Section. At the start of the decade, Birmingham was undoubtedly the top Program in the City Section after 4 straight Open Division titles from 2019-2023, 7 straight league titles, and a 55-game win streak against City Section opponents.

Birmingham would have its streak snapped last season after an Open Division Semi-Final loss to Crenshaw. This year, the Patriots lost their first league since 2017 and subsequently lost out on their first league title since 2017.

Tonight's outcome is the Patriots first-ever loss in the 1st round of the Open Division. Coupled with Garfield, a program who made the Open Division 6 years in a row and reached two finals, dropping down to Division 1 and losing in the quarterfinals means the tide has turned in the LA City Section.

With Carson, who won the Open Division last season, being the favorite to win the Open Division, King/Drew officially establishing themselves as a contender and Crenshaw’s recent rejuvenation of its historic program, the landscape of the City Section looks different than it did entering this decade.

King/Drew Head Coach Joe Torres believes his program can ascend to the top due to the foundation they have. “We have 110 guys in the program, our JV team went 9-1 and their only loss was to Servite with 3 seconds left in the game.”

Torres Further stated “ Everyone laughed at me 2 years ago when I had my Freshman Team playing Mater Dei and St. John Bosco. We want to play tough competition so – those freshmen are the Juniors on my team.”

King Drew advances to the Open Division Semi-Final and will travel to Carson to face No.1 seed, and reigning champions, Carson.

“We’re coming together at the right time which is scary and Carson knows that.It’s my best versus your best Next Friday” Coach Torres said excitedly after briefly speaking on their Semi-Final matchup against Carson

Add us as a preferred source on Google