Jason Bell stood proudly on the frosted turf at Cupples Stadium last night, reminiscing about how his Schenley players were so little the previous time the Spartans played for a City League championship, they don't believe it even happened.

But at precisely the same time Bell uttered those remarks, Spartans senior lineman Andre Irish quickly chimed in with these words.

"We're not little anymore."

Irish and his teammates grew up fast last night, using a stifling defense to knock off two-time defending champion Brashear, 14-2, in a semifinal contest.

Schenley (8-1) earned a spot in the title game for the first time since 1999, and will face Oliver (8-1) Friday in the championship at Cupples Stadium.

Incidentally, 1999 was the most recent time Schenley defeated Brashear (7-3), which owned an 11-game winning streak in the series, including a 36-6 beat-down earlier this season.

Schenley's defense would have no more of that.

The Bulls entered the game with the most potent offense in the City League, but exited the postseason early after being dominated by a Spartans defense that handed their counterparts a laundry list full of setbacks: five sacks, three interceptions, eight tackles for losses, and only 22 yards rushing. The Spartans harassed Brashear quarterback Henri Chatman -- the City League's leading passer -- into completing just 6 of 20 passes for 138 yards, and allowed the only points when Schenley's Deandre Black took a safety late in the game.

"Our defense is always ahead of us. They did what they had to do," said Bell, in his second season as head coach.

Jerome Matthews did what he had to do, too. He scored the game's first touchdown -- a 19-yard burst down the left hashmark in the second quarter, intercepted a pass that led to the Spartans' touchdown early in the fourth quarter -- Darren Jackson's 11-yard scoring toss to Black -- and displayed standout pass coverage matched up against Wisconsin recruit Manasseh Garner.

Brashear could not capitalize on several scoring chances. The Bulls went backward late in a first-quarter drive that began at the Spartans' 4 and resulted in a missed 38-yard field goal; another series that stalled at the Spartan's 16; and a final one late in the fourth quarter that ended with a Chatman interception.

"We missed opportunities on offense," Brashear coach Rick Murphy said, "and they played a great game."

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