All Ball Sports: Extra point decisive in Sea Hawks CIF first round win
by Paul Teetor
Sea Hawks Play On – Barely
The Redondo Union High School football team clawed its way to a 7-6 win over Aquinas in Friday’s CIF-Southern Section Division 4 first-round game Friday night.
A blocked extra point by senior safety Owen Pepper in front of a roaring home crowd was the difference. Both teams were only able to score one touchdown each. But Redondo was able to cash in its extra point attempt while Aquinas was not, and in the end that made all the difference.
Neither team could generate a consistent offensive attack, in a fierce game that featured dominant defenses that forced six punts and four turnovers on downs.
“We’ve been talking about special teams all year,” Redondo Coach Keith Ellison said. “That it might be that one time we have to block that kick to win the game — and today it came through. So I’m glad that Pepper got that chance and that opportunity because that was the biggest play of this game.”
The Sea Hawks offense was stuck going nowhere in the first half, with only two drives and 18 total yards produced from 11 plays.
Fortunately for Ellison and junior quarterback Cole Leinart, who had led the Sea Hawks to five wins in the last six games, Redondo’s red zone defense was stout, keeping Aquinas out of the end zone despite driving deep inside the 20-yard line twice in the first half.
On one deep drive, a false start penalty on fourth-and-2 from the 6-yard line pushed the Falcons back 5 yards. Their decision to go for a touchdown instead of a field goal resulted in a loss of a yard, turning the ball over on downs. That was their second failed attempt to get points in the red zone after a missed 35-yard field goal on their first drive.
“We left three touchdowns on the board for sure,” Aquinas coach Jordan Brusig said. “You have to be able to finish drives and we’ve done it all year long. But tonight we didn’t do that. That’s what it came down to.”
The Falcons finally scored the game’s first points late in the third quarter as running back Jusyis Solis powered his way into the end zone from the 2-yard-line.
But Pepper’s blocked extra point rallied the Sea Hawk offense. On the very next drive, Leinart got the Sea Hawks into the end zone by connecting with wide receiver Bo Ausmus on a 27-yard pass with 19 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
“Our offensive line and the tight ends that block, they’re the backbone of this team,” Leinart said. “They let me do what I do and they let Cadence Turner and Bo do what they do. Week in and week out, Turner and Ausmus come in and ball out. I have the utmost faith in them at all times.”
Sea Hawks kicker Jaxson Blum’s successful extra point attempt following their touchdown proved to be the difference when Aquinas punted the ball with eight minutes remaining. They had one more opportunity but the Sea Hawk defense forced them to turn the ball over on downs with less than two minutes remaining.
“We know we have to play better offensively going forward,” Ellison said. “A lot of that comes down to me as a coach and not doing a good enough job to get them unlocked today. I’m just thrilled for our boys today to go into this game, win this game and get another opportunity to keep on playing.”
Redondo is now 9-2 on the season after finishing 4-1 in the Pioneer League, good for second place. The Sea Hawks will travel to St. Bonaventure for a division 4 quarterfinal matchup next Friday.
Sea Hawk Cadance Turner has been a favorite receiver of quarterback Cole Leinart.
Mira Costa: So Close and yet so Far Away
It happened again.
The Mira Costa High School football team, which has had so many close, last-second losses this season, had another one Friday night as they lost their CIF-SS Division 3 opening-round playoff game against La Habra in an away game at La Habra High School.
La Habra scored three of its four touchdowns on fourth-down plays and converted a crucial fourth down late in the game, which allowed the Highlanders to run out the clock and escape with a 27-24 victory over the Mustangs.
“I think we survived on a little bit of toughness,” La Habra coach Frank Mazzotta said. “Sometimes you just have to gut one out.”
La Habra, which won the Epsilon League, jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never trailed.
On their first drive, the Highlanders capped an 80-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown run from Kavika Martinez to set the tone for all that followed.
On their first drive, the Mustangs (now 5-6 on the season) drove 54 yards and faced a first-and-goal from the 4.
But instead of scoring a touchdown, Costa converted a 23-yard field goal and fell behind by 7-3.
La Habra’s next two scores came on fourth-down plays in the second quarter.
On fourth-and-13 from the Mustangs 31, Kenneth Saucedo made a difficult leaping catch in the end zone on a pass from D.J. Mitchell to give the Highlanders a 13-3 lead.
Then, on fourth-and-1 from the Mustangs 35, Bobby Brooks ran through the left side of the offensive line and raced all the way for a touchdown, putting La Habra ahead 20-3.
The Mustangs came back and scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Nicolas De la Cruz to Barrett Ryan just before the end of the second quarter to cut the lead to 20-10.
Mira Costa received the second half kickoff and scored again, this time on an 8-yard scoring pass from De la Cruz to Luke Meeker, who caught the pass in the back of the end zone on a ball that was bobbled by two La Habra defenders.
The Highlanders led 20-17 late in the third quarter and had a first-and-goal from the 1 after a 27-yard run from D.J. Mitchell.
La Habra increased its lead to 27-17 when, on a fourth-and-goal from the 24-yard line, Mitchell connected with Blake Rodgers for a touchdown.
Still the Mustangs kept fighting and scored on a fourth-and-7 from the La Habra 41 when De la Cruz found Brady Prince in the endzone to make it a 3-point game once again.
With the Mustangs out of timeouts, the Highlanders took over on their 20 with just under eight minutes remaining. The Highlanders drove to their 44 but were two yards short of a first down. It looked like the Mustangs would force a punt and get one more chance to score.
But Saucedo, who is also La Habra’s punter, took the long snap and instead of punting, he completed a pass to Rogers for a first down, enabling the Highlanders to run out the clock.
And so in a Mira Costa season marked by tough losses and close calls the Mustangs had to absorb one more tough loss and close call.
As a special public service for the many alumni of Westchester High School living in the Beach Cities (and you know who you are), All Ball is duty-bound to report that the Comets beat Huntington Park 44-40 in a wild, high-scoring affair Friday night in the first round of the L.A. City Section championships. Westchester, which is now 9-2 on the year, will play Kennedy Friday night.
Contact: teetor.paul@gmail.com. ER