The Southern High School football program has shown steady growth over the past three seasons and it was evident Saturday night with an impressive 26-0 shutout over the JFK Islanders, improving to 3-0 in the 2024 ISA Football League. Senior quarterback Eden Del Rosario ran for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, while linebacker Braven Chaco led the Dolphins defense with 7.5 tackles and limited the JFK offense to just eight yards of total offense.
Despite the final score, Southern coach Justin Cruz expected a better night out of his squad. "I’m not happy with the performance of the team tonight, but it’s a good learning experience now on what we have to fix by playoffs,” Cruz said. The Dolphins did struggle with 15 penalties and a slew of fumbles that could be costly later in the season.
“Ball security gonna be one thing we hold the RBs accountable for. We just gotta go back to the drawing board and work basics," Cruz said. After a quick first quarter, Southern got on the board on the first play of the second quarter when Jaden Escuadra took a pitch left, shifted inside and sprinted untouched for a 27-yard score.
Escuadra had a solid, all-around game on both sides of the ball, leading the Dolphins with 62 yards rushing on nine carries and added 6.5 tackles on defense. Southern’s steady quarterback had a hand in the rest of the scoring.
Midway through the 3rd, Del Rosario lofted a pass to a double-teamed Thomas Dela Cruz down the right side. Dela Cruz made the a.
