South Crenshaw and New Beverly will face off in the state championship football game when All American season 4 begins, but who will win the title? From the very beginning of The CW's hit football drama, a rivalry between Crenshaw and Beverly was established. Spencer James spent the first two seasons playing for New Beverly after Billy Baker recruited him, but he then returned to South Crenshaw at the end of All American season 2 with the promise to give them a state championship and help save the school.
The entirety of All American season 3 was seemingly building towards Crenshaw and Beverly facing off in a high-stakes game for both sides. Although both teams had their ups and downs as the football season progressed, they were destined to meet in the state championship. It took until All American season 3's finale to get the teams on the verge of playing the game. Both of them arrived at the arena hours before kickoff and hot tempers brought about a huge brawl. This not only saw Crenshaw and Beverly's players fight each other, but there were also inter-team fights on both sides. Luckily for the athletes, both coaches agreed to help convince the referees to let the state championship game still happen by downplaying the severity of the fight.
In a fairly surprising move, All American season 3 ended right when South Crenshaw and New Beverly were running out on the field. Instead of delivering on a season-long tease of what should be an epic game between the two schools, the show elected to wait until season 4 to show what will happen. While viewers have to wait to see exactly what happens when South Crenshaw and New Beverly collide again, let's take a look at the rivalry's history, how the teams compare, and predict who will win All American's state championship.
South Crenshaw and New Beverly have faced off twice before the upcoming state championship game, although they were both under very different circumstances. The schools originally faced off in the All American season 1 finale when they were both in the state championship game. However, the teams were very different back then, with Spencer playing for Crenshaw and forming a dynamic connection with Jordan Baker, while Billy coached them. South Crenshaw played very well but it was New Beverly who won the game thanks to a last-second touchdown by Spencer.
The rematch between Crenshaw and Beverly came in season 2 but in less of an official setting. They played in a 7-on-7 game in the spring that started as a friendly exhibition game between the two talented teams, with the rivalry between Spencer and his half-brother Darnell fueling things. However, this game didn't have a similarly exciting end, but rather one of understanding. While Spencer was running to try and score a touchdown, he saw Darnell approaching as the final defender in his path. Spencer chose to take a knee and Darnell follows suit so the two teams can shake hands and go their separate ways in peace.
Looking ahead at South Crenshaw's chances to beat New Beverly for the California State Championship, there are a few factors in their favor. One such benefit could be the familiarity Spencer and Billy have with the opposing players. Spencer played alongside them and Billy coached them last season. Billy also has the advantage of raising Jordan, and their connection in All American means he knows his tendencies and weaknesses as a player better than anyone. Billy could use that knowledge to craft a defense that exploits his son's bad habits. There's also the fact that Spencer helped train Jordan after his concussion and is engrossed in Beverly's playbook as a result. Even though that wasn't why he helped Jordan, he has an even more in-depth knowledge of the plays, formations, and audibles that could help Crenshaw know what Beverly is about to do.
Another bonus in South Crenshaw's favor is the fact that they are the team that now has Spencer James on its roster. He is the best football player between the two schools and was the reason why Beverly beat Crenshaw in the last state championship. Now that he's Spencer's fully recovered from his arm injury, he should be at full force and ready to dominate in his final high school football game. His talent is supreme, but it also helps Crenshaw's chances that he is All American's lead character. Unless the show wants Spencer to rebound from the loss as he prepares for the All-American game, it would make more sense for him to be on the winning team.
South Crenshaw's chances to win should also increase following Asher Adam's surprise ineligibility to play. The former wide receiver reinvented his football career by moving to defense for his senior season and became one of the leaders of New Beverly's defensive unit. However, he learned right before kick-off that he has a rare heart condition that means he can't play football anymore. While New Beverly and Coach Montes might have found a new game plan and replacement for Asher with an adequate heads-up, his sudden and surprising absence will weaken the team's defense, making it that much easier for Spencer to exploit potentially.
New Beverly might seem like the underdogs heading into the California State Championship, but they still have a great shot to win too. They are the defending champs after all, and they have talent on their team despite being down Asher and not having Spencer like last year. Prior to Asher's injury in All American, he helped Coach Montes design new plays that South Crenshaw and Spencer won't know that are also supposed to highlight Jordan's strengths. Montes told him right before kick-off that he is going to play and split reps with JJ, which gives New Beverly two very different types of quarterbacks. That could be enough to keep Crenshaw guessing and off their toes on defense.
It also could be fair to say that New Beverly has the better overall team than South Crenshaw. The latter has been up and down all season long and had a particularly rough start. New Beverly, on the other hand, has had a fairly good season and shown they can overcome adversity. Jordan's injury could've tanked their season, but JJ stepped up and delivered solid production as the starting quarterback. Losing Asher will be hard, but Montes has kept the team together through thick and thin all season long. Capping off their season with another state championship could be exactly what the story needs.
Now that the cases for both teams winning has been established, who will actually win the California State Championship in All American season 4? South Crenshaw should be the favorite to win and defeat New Beverly to win the game. Crenshaw might not need to win to avoid becoming a magnet school anymore, but that lessened pressure could actually be in their favor. Some of Spencer's teammates showed signs of the pressure getting to them already, so now they can play like normal without the weight of their entire school and community on their shoulders. It also gives the school its redemption story from losing in the title game last year, while Spencer becomes a back-to-back state champion. And since South Crenshaw isn't missing any key players at the last second, All American season 4 should see Spencer and Billy accomplish what they set out to do and bring South Crenshaw a state championship.
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