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After 14 years of waiting, Taegu American has something to celebrate.

Trey Griffin threw a touchdown pass, Angel Hickman tossed the two-point conversion and the Warriors held off Osan American for an 8-6 victory Saturday at Cougars Field.

For the first time, the Warriors earned a berth in the Far East Class A championship game, which Taegu American will host Nov. 3 at Camp Walker’s carpeted Kelly Field.

In Japan, Edgren survived a double-overtime scare in winning its third straight game and Guam High (3-4) clung onto the fourth and last Interscholastic Football League playoff spot but failed to move over the .500 mark.

Taegu American 8, Osan American 6: At Osan Air Base, Griffin was 6-for-13 for 170 yards, hitting Brandon Spencer from 30 yards out for a first-quarter touchdown, Hickman then found Dan Garcia for the two-point pass and a lead that stood up.

Abel Saucedo’s 1-yard touchdown run capped Osan’s scoring drive, fueled by a couple of Taegu unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. Osan failed on a two-point try that would have tied it.

Garcia and Jeff Wojtonik led Taegu’s defensive effort, combining for 10 backfield tackles for losses. “They really lit it up,” Warriors coach Ken Walter said. “They just had an outstanding game. Defense was the star.”

It will be the first time since the Class A championship started in 2005 that Osan won’t play for it. The Cougars beat Robert D. Edgren 16-14 in 2005 and lost at Edgren 23-0 last November.

Edgren 16, American School In Japan 15: At Tokyo, Jacque Moton’s 15-yard scoring run and Brandon Massie’s conversion gave the Eagles their only lead. The Mustangs (0-4) led 9-0 at halftime, a margin that stood until late in the third quarter.

Zach Latimore’s 2-yard run cut the deficit to three, then Massie tied the game early in the fourth quarter with a 35-yard field goal.

Edgren has won eight of its past 11 games dating back to last season, the Eagles’ best stretch since the late 1990s.

Simon Sanchez 10, Guam High 0: At Naval Station, Guam, the Panthers’ defense sparkled but their offense failed to click at Blue Jacket Field. Guam High advanced to the Simon Sanchez 35-yard line only once, in the third quarter. Guam High suffered its second shutout loss in the last three games.

“We’re not executing,” coach Brandon Miller said. “The defense has been doing a great job, but we’re having mental breakdowns in the line, balls are hitting people in the hands and dropping.”

Carl Salgado paced the Panthers with 12 tackles, seven solo, while Rey Tenorio added 10 tackles, eight solo, with 1½ sacks. Ryan Ford blocked Carlo Tambora’s 46-yard second-quarter field goal attempt.

Tambora kicked a 34-yarder in the third quarter. Minutes later, he sneaked in from the 1 and kicked the extra point for the game’s final margin.

Cross country14-year-old girls record falls at Tama Hills: After coming within six seconds or less of the record six times in the last two seasons, St. Maur International senior Anna Novick on Saturday became the first girls runner to clock under 13 minutes on Tama Hills Recreation Center’s 2.1-mile course.

Novick was timed in 12 minutes, 58.6 seconds, breaking the old mark of 13:03 set in 1993 by Sara Kelsch of American School In Japan. Novick is the daughter of Peter Novick, a civilian in emergency management at Yokosuka Naval Base.

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