by Paul Teetor
A Redondo football season that started with injuries, ineptitude and dysfunction – and three straight losses by a combined score of 81-23 — is on the verge of ending in a holiday burst of historic glory on the legs of star running back Bo Ausmus.
Against all odds, the Redondo Union football team won Friday night’s CIF-Southern Section Division 5 semifinal game with Loyola, a win that propelled the Sea Hawks into their first CIF Final since 1944 – 81 years ago.
It was a game won in story book fashion as Redondo’s other offensive star — quarterback Cole Leinart — had to leave the game with an ankle sprain suffered during Redondo’s second possession of the first half – only to return later in triumph.
In his absence, rarely used backup quarterback Brady Grow completed only one pass as Redondo turned to its powerful running game for the bulk of its offense. It quickly paid dividends when runner/receiver Bo Ausmus set off on a 60-yard touchdown gallop that tied the game at 7-7 after Loyola drew first blood on a 21-yard Jayden Rogers run.
The rest of the first half turned into a defensive struggle as the two teams fought to a halftime tie at 7 all.
Then Leinart returned to the field to lead his team to a 21-7 victory – inspired by a brief chat with his father, former USC quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart.
“My teammates trust me to go out there and perform – that’s all I can ask for,” Leinart said. “I talked to my dad at halftime with my ankle and he goes ‘you got this – just battle, play for your teammates.’”
Back in the game after halftime, first Leinart handed the ball off to Ausmus, who escaped the fierce Loyola defense yet again – this time for a 6-yard touchdown run that gave the Sea Hawks a 14-7 lead.
Then Leinart threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Harper after defensive lineman Mikey Ricardo forced a Loyola fumble that was recovered by Randy Summerville.
Ausmus, who finished with 129 rushing yards and two touchdowns, now has 519 rushing yards and 14 total touchdowns through the last seven games after missing the first part of the season with an injury.
“He is a really good football player,” Loyola coach Drew Casani said.
After Harper’s score, the game again turned into a defensive battle, with hard-hitting on both sides of the ball. Loyola forced a Leinart fumble in the backfield to give the Cubs the ball during Redondo’s first drive of the fourth quarter.
Loyola had one last chance to get back into the game if it could score quickly and then get the ball back.
In the final minutes of the game, a Loyola fumble recovery put the Cubs into Redondo territory at the 18-yard line. On that final possession, however, Redondo stopped Loyola on fourth down with a minute remaining and that was the ball game.
Redondo’s stout defense, combined with the offensive prowess of Leinart and Ausmus, allowed the Sea Hawks to control the game in the second half and put Redondo into position for a historic win over Rio Hondo Prep in the CIF final. The championship game will be played Friday night at Sea Hawk Stadium.
“It’s been over 80 years since we’ve been back in the CIF title game and our players have talked all year about leaving a legacy,” Redondo Coach Keith Ellison said. “One of the things I talked to them about at halftime today was like ‘we’ve got 24 minutes to leave their legacy and who they’re going to be. They’ve worked so hard to get to this point and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
For Ausmus and Leinart, the win – and the turnaround from an 0-3 start — was more than just another victory. It was proof of the team’s resilience and the culmination of a season ultimately defined by trust and teamwork.
“We fight till the end, because these playoff games have been tough and the game’s not really over until it’s really over,” Leinart said. “We have a great chance of coming out on top because of Coach Ellison.”
USC Fumbles its big chance
The most hyped college football game of the weekend – USC versus Oregon – was a great chance for USC to return to football glory after years wandering in the wilderness. According to the betting experts who now run college football, USC had a 90 percent chance of being selected to participate in the 12 team College Football Playoffs if they won the game — but only a two percent chance if they lost.
So, naturally they lost 42-27 Saturday afternoon, leaving Trojan fans left to wonder once again if USC made a monumental mistake luring Coach Lincoln Riley to SoCal four years ago with a $10 million per year salary.
Except for star quarterback Caleb Williams’ first season – it feels like a million years ago but really was only four years ago when Williams followed Riley from Oklahoma to LA – USC has been irrelevant ever since Riley came to town in a burst of hope and hype.
The downward spiral started with their bone-headed decision to leave the PAC-12 – thereby triggering a mass exit – and subsequent beat downs by the likes of football power houses Indiana and Penn State.
Now, once again, USC fans will be forced to watch their team play in a third-rate bowl like the Toilet Bowl or the Ramen Noodle Protein Bowl while Riley keeps talking about the “progress” he is making in building a program that will consistently contend for a national title.
It’s all hot air and mindless hype as the cruel reality sinks in: without a star quarterback who is an obvious pro prospect – and current starter Jayden Maiava certainly doesn’t fit that profile – USC will continue to be a second-tier team in the Big 10 and a third-tier team on the national scene.
They need a young, dynamic coach who understands modern offensive trends and can attract elite prospects not just with NIL money but with the force of his personality and coaching ability.
You know, someone like who Lincoln Riley was supposed to be — but clearly isn’t.
Contact: teetor.paul@gmail.com. ER
