With its win at Redondo last Friday, Mira Costa was awarded a home game in Friday’s first round of the CIF Southern Section/Ford Northern Division Championship presented by Farmers. All playoff games are slated to start at 7:30 p.m. unless another time is mutually agreed upon.
Bay League runner-up Mira Costa (7-3) will host Highland (6-4), the third-place which finisher in the Golden League. The Bulldogs are led by quarterback Donte Ross, a double threat who leads the team in both passing and rushing. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound junior has completed 77 of 133 passes for 1,242 and 14 touchdowns this season but has also tossed nine interceptions. Ross has rushed for 14 touchdowns while gaining 809 yards on 122 carries.
Mira Costa enters the game ranked sixth in the Northern Division. The winner will face the victor between No. 5 St. Joseph of Santa Maria and West Torrance, which earned an at large berth with a 7-3 overall record.
Redondo (5-5) will play at No. 8 Quartz Hill (7-3), the runner-up in the Golden League. The Rebels rely heavily on running back Osirius Burke, a 5-foot-9, 214-pound senior who has rushed for 1,420 yards and 24 touchdowns on 161 carries this season.
Quartz Hill quarterback Jibraun Asaad has connected on 40 of 77 passes for 529 yards and three touchdowns but has also thrown seven interceptions. His favorite target is Keith Davison who has 16 receptions for 140 yards and one touchdown.
Bay League champion Palos Verdes (7-3) earned a No. 3 seed and will host Antelope Valley (7-3) in the first round. Because the Sea Kings have no lights at their field, the game will be played at West Torrance.
In the Northwest Division, Pioneer League champion North Torrance (8-2) is seeded fourth and hosts Oak Park (5-5). Pioneer runner-up El Segundo (6-4) plays at No. 5 La Puente (8-2) while Torrance (5-5) plays at No. 10 Whittier Christian (7-3) and South Torrance (4-6) travels to take on top-seeded Bishop Diego (10-0).
Del Rey runner-up Bishop Montgomery (7-2) is ranked seventh and hosts Village Christian (6-4).
In the Western Division, third-seeded Serra (8-2) hosts Oxnard (6-4).
A huge road win
Mira Costa secured second place in the Bay League, holding off a scrappy Redondo team 45-38 in what turned into a shootout in Sea Hawk Bowl.
Mira Costa’s veer offense amassed 450 yards on the ground led by Raphael Lawson-Gayle who ran for 210 yards and four touchdowns on 16 carries.
Mustang quarterback Khalil McClain added 132 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries and Sebastian Franck-Love ran the ball 14 times for 78 yards.
Redondo did its best to stay in the game including five onside kick attempts and a re-born passing game with quarterback Harrison Faecher completing 18 of 38 passes for 314 yards and four touchdowns. Redondo running back Anthony Philyaw was limited to eight yards on six carries while wearing a cast over his injured right wrist. Jamaal Perkins tried his best to pick up the slack gaining 73 yards on nine rushing attempts.
After Colin Castillo nailed a 25-yard field goal to give Redondo an early lead, Mira Costa’s Casey Sublette connected on a 19-yard field goal attempt to tie the score 3-3 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Lawson-Gayle had touchdowns runs of 5 and 29 yards for Mira Costa but Redondo countered with Bren Galbasin hauling in a 21-yard pass for a touchdown that was sandwiched by field goals of 34 and 40 yards by Castillo.
The explosive third quarter began with McClain scoring on runs of 48 and 36 yards just to be answered by Redondo with Colin Hindle hauling in a 29-yard touchdown pass and Galbasin scoring his second of the game with a 10-yard reception from Faecher. Galbasin finished the game with seven receptions for 93 yards.
Lawson-Gayle closed out the third quarter scoring with a 74-yard run for the Mustangs and carried the momentum into the final frame when he scored on a 5-yard run to seal the victory.
“The roles seemed to switch this week as the offense really exploded with great performances by quarterback Harrison Faecher connecting with his receivers Bren Galbasin, Freddie Smith, Colin Hindle, DeAaron Williams, Bret Ware, Joe Ramos and Keanu Capper,” Redondo head coach Matt Ballard stated. “The defense struggled holding the Mustang ground attack down most of the night.
“A new season begins as we head into the CIF playoffs next week. The past is over, we now play week to week, and anything can happen in the realigned playoff brackets. Our boys have shown character and heart during their successes and failures this season. We need to internalize all of those lessons and take that emotion, good and bad, and direct it toward a cohesive and consistent playoff run.”
Faecher was named Redondo’s Offensive Player of the Game with senior defensive end Justin Wesson earning Defensive Player of the Game honors. Senior punter Blake Bishop was the Sea Hawk’s Special Teams Player of the Game and junior defensive end Walter Siefker was selected as the team’s Scout/Practice Player of the Week.
