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Sondheimer: Eagle Rock’s Melion Busano gave football a chance, and it paid off

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Sondheimer: Eagle Rock’s Melion Busano gave football a chance, and it paid off

Lacking confidence as a 14-year-old freshman, Melion Busano entered high school with one thought in mind.

“Just get the four years over with,” he said.

In September 2022, while getting 30 minutes to try out for the basketball team at Eagle Rock High, his confidence was shaken even more.

“They said if we send you a text, you made the team. I never got that text,” he said. “I was in denial. ‘Maybe they forgot me.’ After the third or fourth week, I was [thinking], ‘Maybe they didn’t send that text.’”

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Rejection left him adrift, but then came the moment that changed his life. While carrying around a camera for film class, the JV football coach, Vince Vergara, noticed him, pulled him aside and asked, “Hey, do you want to play football?”

He joined the JV team as a sophomore. His mother had refused to let him play football years ago after seeing the 2015 film, “Concussion.” This time, she told him, “Be careful.”

He started from scratch.

“I had to learn on the fly,” he said. “I didn’t know what type of run plays or nothing. Never played youth football, never played flag.”

Last season as a junior, he made varsity and had 211 yards rushing and two touchdowns. This season, as a much improved 5-foot-10, 195-pound senior, he’s become so valuable that coach Andy Moran said he’s the best running back in the City Section, having rushed for 824 yards and 13 touchdowns going into the Northern League title decider against Franklin on Friday.

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“He doesn’t go down and everybody has prepared to stop him and hasn’t,” Moran said.

He had 143 yards rushing against Granada Hills Kennedy, 108 yards against Monrovia, 146 yards against Bell, 141 yards against Marquez and 107 yards against L.A. Marshall.

His father was a Marine for 20 years and came here as a teenager from Belize. His mother is from the Philippines.

“Sadly I have not gone to either but would love to go,” he said.

His first name stands for “My Lion.”

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“You’re a lion, so you’re fierce,” his father tells him.

With renewed confidence, Busano has discovered a love for football and a belief he can keep getting better with experience.

He even tried out for basketball again and made the team, then decided to focus on football.

His father told him, “Try again, work harder, make yourself a better person.”

It’s all part of the high school experience — experimenting, exploring and dealing with the positives and negatives that happen to everyone in their teenage years. His younger brother also made the football team.

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“Now I’m kicking myself why didn’t I do this my freshman year,” Busano said. “Now I appreciate the little things, about discipline, always do your job, don’t do someone else’s job. It’s helped me grow up as a person. I was very ignorant and blind walking into this. I felt I probably won’t be the worst player but probably second string, but I came onto the field and started. It was, ‘Wow.’”

Soon he hopes to visit Belize or Manila to learn more about his parents’ home countries.

“My dad says my grandma has a house where you can wake up and look out the window and the beach is right there,” he said. “I want to visit both.”

He’s a 17-year-old seeing a whole different world and a whole different future with the help of his football experiences.

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Browns to start Shedeur Sanders at quarterback for remainder of 2025 season

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Browns to start Shedeur Sanders at quarterback for remainder of 2025 season

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There will be no more quarterback moves for the Cleveland Browns for the remainder of the 2025 season, as Shedeur Sanders will stay as the team’s starter for the next four games.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters that he’s seen Sanders “constantly and consistently gotten better in each of these games,” as he’s started the last three contests after fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel suffered a concussion in Week 11 against the Baltimore Ravens.

“He’s been working very hard. I feel good about where his development is heading,” Stefanski said of Sanders. “He knows there are always gonna be plays that he could be better and those types of things, but he’s very intentional about getting better each and every game he’s out there.”

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Cleveland Browns’ Shedeur Sanders (12) and Teven Jenkins (74) celebrate a touchdown in the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.  (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Sanders became the first Browns quarterback to win his first-ever start in the league after helping take down the Las Vegas Raiders for Cleveland’s third win of the season.

And while Sanders completed a season-high 64% of his passes against the San Francisco 49ers in his first start at home, the Browns weren’t able to see the same victory on their record at the end of that contest.

BROWNS COACH DRAWS FURY AS SHEDEUR SANDERS SITS DURING CRUCIAL 2-POINT TRY

Sanders made his third start in a row on Sunday in sloppy conditions in Cleveland against a lowly Tennessee Titans team that beat them, 31-29, to capture just their second win of the year.

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During the game, Stefanski drew the ire of Sanders fans when the quarterback was off the field for a two-point conversion try despite throwing a touchdown pass to tight end Harold Fannin Jr. Stefanski, instead, tried for a wildcat play with rookie running back Quinshon Judkins leading the way. The play ultimately didn’t work out, and fans wondered what could’ve been if Sanders was in the game.

Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns stands for the national anthem prior to a NFL Preseason 2025 game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on Aug. 8, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Logan Bowles/Getty Images)

“Browns removing Shedeur constantly on goal 2 go situations and going wildcat needs 2 be studied,” Shannon Sharpe wrote on X. “He’s on the SL. That’s bulljive.”

Skip Bayless even called for the removal of Stefanski after seeing what transpired at the end of the game.

“SHEDEUR TO FANNIN FOR THE CLUTCH TD — THEN STEFANSKI TAKES SHEDEUR OUT FOR THE WILDCAT — DISASTER. STEFANSKI BLOWS ANOTHER GAME. HE JUST COULDN’T STAND SEEING SHEDEUR TIE THE GAME WITH A 2-POINT CONVERSION AFTER SUCH A GREAT LONG TD DRIVE. FIRE STEFANSKI!”

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Sanders was impressive despite the losing result, going 23-of-42 for 364 yards passing with three touchdowns and his first career rushing score.

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The Browns will travel to the Windy City to face the Chicago Bears in Week 15, followed by games against the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers and finishing the season against the Cincinnati Bengals. 

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Prep talk: Documentary shows the history of CIF Southern Section since 1913

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Prep talk: Documentary shows the history of CIF Southern Section since 1913

Throughout a new 45-minute documentary showing the history of the CIF Southern Section, the face and voice of its voluntary historian, John Dahlem, lets everyone know about his determination and dedication to preserve, explore and uncover invaluable tidbits of an organization that began in 1913.

A 45-minute documentary on the history of the CIF Southern Section will get its first public airing on Saturday after the Santa Margarita-De La Salle football game on Spectrum.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

From the very first game programs produced by high schools to revealing the unusual sports that used to be played, this documentary offers informative and intriguing details and will be much appreciated by anyone who has participated in California high school sports, whether as a coach, player, parent or past participant.

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There are so many historical items Dahlem found before his death last year. From old video to old trophies to old medallions, it’s a look back and a look forward on how high school sports has changed, including the fact girls weren’t welcome to compete in playoffs until 1974.

Nothing was more intriguing than Dahlem showing there used to be a hand grenade competition, with a student from Huntington Park winning the first competition. Yes, it was about arm strength, so baseball players were good throwing hand grenades.

The film will receive its first showing on television on Saturday night on Spectrum at the conclusion of the Santa Margarita-De La Salle state football championship game. Then it will move to the Southern Section’s YouTube site.

Former Southern Section commissioner Rob Wigod serves as narrator in the project in which Taylor Martinez was the executive producer.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

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Philip Rivers, 44-year-old who recently became grandfather, to visit Colts for potential NFL return: reports

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Philip Rivers, 44-year-old who recently became grandfather, to visit Colts for potential NFL return: reports

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The Indianapolis Colts, desperate at the quarterback position after injuries to both Daniel Jones and backup Riley Leonard, are bringing in a retiree to potentially lead the way in a playoff race.

Philip Rivers, the former Colts and Los Angeles Chargers quarterback who turned 44 years old on Monday, will be hosted by Indianapolis on Tuesday for a visit, according to multiple reports.

Rivers would be considered for a practice squad position, NFL Network reported, as the rookie Leonard, who took over for Jones after he suffered an Achilles injury on Sunday, is considered the team’s starter moving forward.

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Philip Rivers  of the Los Angeles Chargers in action during the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on Dec. 2, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

However, Leonard is reportedly dealing with a knee injury that could leave Brett Rypien as the team’s only health option heading into Week 15 against a tough Seattle Seahawks team on the road. Leonard is being considered week to week, according to reports.

ESPN added that, while the Colts will be evaluating to see if Rivers is in shape enough to play in the league, he is still determining whether he wants to make an NFL comeback. But he’s clearly thinking hard about it with a trip to Indianapolis.

COLTS’ DANIEL JONES SLAMS HELMET IN FRUSTRATION AS HE SUFFERS GRUESOME ACHILLES INJURY

Rivers last appeared in the NFL in 2020 when he started 16 games for the Colts. He was 39 at the time and certainly a serviceable option at the position after passing for 4,169 yards with 24 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. Indianapolis went 11-5 that season before losing to the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs.

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Rivers ended up announcing his retirement after that loss to the Bills, though he remained in the rumor mill as someone who could come back. He was open to being the New Orleans Saints quarterback in 2021, and the San Francisco 49ers admitted he was their choice if they made it to Super Bowl LVII when Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson both suffered injuries during the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) throwing a pass during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Buffalo Bills, in Orchard Park, New York. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus, File)

But Rivers remained in Alabama, where he coached high school football over the past few years. The Colts clearly came calling, though, after a disastrous Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

During the first quarter, Jones, who has been playing on a broken fibula, suffered a season-ending Achilles injury and he was visibly frustrated as he slammed his helmet to the turf.

The Colts have now dropped into the bubble group of AFC teams hoping to get into the playoffs after losing three straight games since coming off their bye week.

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Rivers, who recently became a grandfather, threw for 63,440 passing yards and 421 touchdowns with a 64.9% completion rate across 244 career games in the NFL. He also owns a 5-7 record in the playoffs.

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