Coming off two lopsided wins, Mira Costa will face a stiffer test in the final week of Bay League competition when the Mustangs host rival Redondo Union Friday in a game that will have serious playoff implications in the run for the CIF Southern Section Northern Division title.
Mira Costa (6-3, 3-1) defeated winless Leuzinger 42-0 Friday but will take on a scrappy Redondo team that gave defending Bay League and CIF champion Palos Verdes its toughest battle in league action.
Palos Verdes (7-2, 4-0) clinched a share of the Bay League title with its 24-14 win over the visiting Sea Hawks Friday afternoon. Ranked No. 2 in the Northern Division, Palos Verdes will enter the postseason as the Bay League’s No. 1 team with wins over Mira Costa (35-0) and West Torrance (34-7).
With a win this week, Mira Costa can enter the playoffs with a better seed as the Bay League’s second team. A loss to Redondo would create a log jam for second place with Mira Costa, Redondo and West each having two losses.
Palos Verdes overcame a 14-10 deficit in the third quarter to win its sixth straight game and 17th consecutive Bay League victory. The Sea Kings have outscored their opponents 303-102 this season and host Peninsula (4-5. 1-3) in their rivalry game.
In a game featuring two tough defenses, Redondo and Palos Verdes each resorted to trick plays on offense to gain an edge.
Facing a fourth-and-7 on its own 25–yard line in the first quarter, Redondo was successful on a fake punt when Michael Navarro ran 50 yards for a new set of downs. Quarterback Harrison Faecher capped off the drive with a 1-yard dive into the end zone to give the Sea Hawks a 7-3 lead.
With starting quarterback Daniel DiRocco sidelined because of a possible concussion suffered during Palos Verdes’ game against West the previous week, the Sea Kings regained the lead when Steven Delcarson connected with Lance Brown on a 32-yard touchdown pass.
Redondo quickly answered with a 73-yard touchdown pass from Faecher to Keanu Capper to pull ahead 14-10 before the teams went to the locker rooms at halftime.
With two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Delcarson culminated an 87-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Brown to give the Sea Kings a lead they would not relinquish.
Down by only a field goal and facing a first-and-goal from the 2-yard line, Redondo’s hopes of a comeback were kept alive when the Sea Hawk defense pushed Palos Verdes back into a fourth-and-14 from the 16-yard line.
But it was the Sea King’s turn to use some trickery of their own, sealing the victory when Will Scolinos threw a pass off a double reverse to Sage Abraham for touchdown with 2:04 remaining in the game.
