State champs! O’Dowd wins 5-AA title in dominant style

BUENA PARK — When the clock hit zeroes Friday night, Bishop O’Dowd stood on the field with helmets raised and arms in the air.

After a tough start to the season, the Dragons had just reached the mountaintop with a championship performance on the biggest stage.

In dominant fashion, O’Dowd defeated Christian-El Cajon 37-0 to win the CIF Division 5-AA state. championship

Quarterback Christian Cermenelli-Johnson tossed two touchdown passes and Lamar Ellis ran for a score to lead the Oakland school to its second state championship. The Dragons also captured the 5-AA title in 2026.

After a shaky first possession, O’Dowd didn’t need long to get itself going.

Cermenelli-Johnson found Ian Garrick on third-and-eight for a 43-yard touchdown pass. Later in the quarter, Bryan Edwards – nicknamed “cheat code” because of his big-play talent – took a screen pass 18 yards to the house to put O’Dowd up 14.

Anthony Hassell’s nine-yard touchdown run gave O’Dowd a 21-point advantage by halftime.

O’Dowd’s defense was utterly dominant in the first half, sacking the quarterback five times. Christian was held to 98 yards of total offense through two quarters.

O’Dowd’s run to Friday’s state title game began with early adversity.

The Dragons opened the season 1-3, with blowout losses to Mater Dei-Chula Vista and Cardinal Newman as well as a close defeat to Rancho Cotate.

The East Oakland school came in second in the WACC Foothill Division as it lost a head-to-head matchup with rival James Logan.

But the Dragons were unstoppable in the postseason. They breezed past Mt. Diablo, St. Helena and Fortuna to capture the North Coast Section Division VI title.

Behind a two-touchdown performance from Ellis, O’Dowd edged Chico in the NorCal regionals to get to Friday’s state title game.