Southern Section football first-round playoffs roundup: Murrieta Valley beats Damien in 43-40 thriller
There were about 100 Southern Section first-round playoff games played Friday night. Here's 10 that were of note. See all the scores and quarterfinal matchups below:
Information gathered from coaches, trusted on-line reports and Twitter accounts
Division 2
Los Alamitos 56, Upland 31: Down 17-14 early in the second quarter on Friday, the Los Alamitos football team didn't panic, it simply went to work in a resounding 56-31 CIF Southern Section Division 2 opening round win over Upland. USC-bound safety Isaiah Rubin intercepted Noah Sandoval twice, the first that he rturned 65 yards for a touchdowns to put the Griffins up 49-24 early in the fourth. On the ensuing kickoff, Jackson Bennett picked up a fumble and scooted 25 yards for another score and just like that, this game was essentially over. See story and photo gallery from Heston Quan.
Los Alamitos (right) used a 42-7 run starting in the middle of the second quarter to win going away.
Photo: Heston Quan
Long Beach Poly 31, Vista Murrieta 21: Colorado State-bound quarterback Darius Curry and his top-seeded Jackrabbits (10-1) overcame two pick 6s, but survived at Long Beach Veterans Stadium. Malachi Sayles (35 yards) and Brendan Martinez (40 yards) ran pick interceptions off Curry, but the resilient senior threw for 291 yards and accounted for three touchdowns himself and Colin Powell's tenacious 3-yard TD run in the fourth quarter sealed it for the Jackrabbits. Short TD receptions by Charles Clinton and Kamarie Smith from Curry, who added a 10-yard keeper accounted for the other Poly touchdowns. Vista Murrieta finished 6-5.
Murrieta Valley 43, Damien 40: Dorian Hoze opened the scoring with a 60-yard run in the first minute, setting the tone for a wild home win for the Nighthawks (8-3). Damien's Isaiah Arriaza answered with a 70-yard bomb to Eddie Don but a two-point try failed and this one was off and running. Damien (8-3), which finished on a 3-game losing streak, couldn't overcome a four-TD surge by Murrieta Valley in the second quarter which featured a TD run and catch by Camden Connor, a 23-yard touchdown run from Hoze and a 45-yard pick-6 by Derrick Johnson. Arriaza's third and fourth TD passes, the second to Gavin Lannon, gave Damien a 40-35 lead late in the third, but Hoze scored on a 30-yard run with three minutes to go and his two-point conversion gave the Nighthawks their final margin.
Servite 48, Valencia 24: Quaid Carr rushed for three touchdowns and quarterback Leo Hannan accounted for three more as the last-place team (along with Santa Margarita) in the Trinity League doubled up on Valencia (9-2), the Foothill League champs, which got two touchdown passes from Jackson Askins, who was knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter after a big hit. Carr put the game away with fourth-quarter TD runs of 58 and 67 yards.
Division 3
Cajon 27, Pacifica-Oxnard 17: After a 10-0 regular season, the host and short-handed Tritons were eliminated after Cajon quarterback Evan Powell set the tone with a 66-yard touchdown run to open the score. Pacifica eventually wiped out a 14-0 deficit with 17 straight points, but Powell took back the lead on a 35-yard pass from Powell with 1:28 left in the third. They then put the game away with a long, time-consuming touchdown drive capped with a 2-yard run by Powell with four minutes left in the fourth. A 77-yard touchdown pass from Dominic Duran to Isaiah Dillon keyed the 17-point comeback for Pacifica, which lost its top player Josh Joyner on the first play of the game and never returned, and three players serving suspensions after an altercation with Oxnard last week in a regular-season finale. Cajon improved to 8-3 and will play another Ventura county squad, St. Bonaventure, in the quarterfinals.
Chaminade 39, Inglewood 35: Chaminade quarterback Seth Shigg led the Eagles to the stirring comeback win, coming back from a 28-10 halftime deficit. After Inglewood's Ray Gilbert scored to give the Sentinels a 35-32 lead with 1:38 lead, Shigg orchestrated a game-winning drive he capped with a 20-yard touchdown run with 20 seconds to play. See Tarek Fattal's account.
St. Bonaventure 43, Etiwanda 26: Koen Glover (25 carries, 178 yards, three TDs) started and ended the scoring with TD runs of 8 and 12 yards, the second with 3 minutes remaining to clinch the road win for St. Bonaventure (8-3), which also got two touchdown passes from Anthony Wolter and a 53-yard TD run by DJ Doss. Etiwanda (7-4), which never led, closed to within 22-20 in the third quarter on one of two touchdown passes from Washington-bound Demaricus Davis to Jaden Landrum. But St. Bonaventure responded with touchdowns from Jayce Franco (12-yard run) and Kayin Booker (25-yard reception from Wolter) to put the Seraphs back in command.
Division 4
Santa Barbara 41, St. Paul 35 (2 OTs): After DJ Wilson forced a fumble in the second overtime that was recovered the the Dons, who immediately cashed in on a 1-yard game-ending TD sneak by Abel Renteria. Santa Barbara will host Corona del Mar in a quarterfinal game. Winston Barley scored in the first overtime for the Dons, recovering a fumble in the end zone after a Koa Herrera 20-yard run. St. Paul's Orlando Zepeda answered with a touchdown catch and run. See Noozhawk game story.
Division 5
Apple Valley 35, Hesperia:32 The host Scorpions (9-2) fought back from a late 16-point deficit and had a chance to tie it. But a late field goal missed and the Sun Devils (7-4) pulled out a big payback win. See Lance Smith's 5 takeaways/gamer/video.
Division 6
Simi Valley 40, Rancho Verde 34: Brice Hawkins' 5-yard touchdown in overtime won it for visiting Simi Valley (6-5), which pulled the upset thanks in part to a 20-yard pick 6 by Alex Villalobos midway through the second quarter. Boise State-bound running back Dylan Riley opened the score with a 65-yard run and added another 25-yard touchdown scamper, but it wasn't enough for the Mustangs, who finished 8-3.
