By TED APODACA: Garden Grove High had to win a dogfight to keep its hopes of back-to-back CIF-SS championships alive.
Santa Ana Valley High had a big second half, but the Argonauts were able to hold off the Falcons, 24-19, in the CIF-SS Southern Division football playoffs on Friday at Santa Ana Valley High.
Jordan Antunez rushed for 376 yards and two early touchdowns that had the Argonauts up 14-0 at halftime. But the Falcons crept back into the game and Garden Grove needed a late interception to finally put the game away.
By TED APODACA: Garden Grove High had to win a dogfight to keep its hopes of back-to-back CIF-SS championships alive.
Santa Ana Valley High had a big second half, but the Argonauts were able to hold off the Falcons, 24-19, in the CIF-SS Southern Division football playoffs on Friday at Santa Ana Valley High.
Jordan Antunez rushed for 376 yards and two early touchdowns that had the Argonauts up 14-0 at halftime. But the Falcons crept back into the game and Garden Grove needed a late interception to finally put the game away.
Garden Grove moves into the semifinals, where it will host Brea Olinda on Friday. Garden Grove coach Ricardo Cepeda said he expected a gritty game from the Falcons.
“They played tough, I’ve been telling everybody, ‘They’re a tough, physical team’ like us,” Cepeda said.
Early in the fourth quarter, Santa Ana Valley had cut the Garden Grove League to 17-12 with a three-yard touchdown run by Chris Hernandez. After getting shutout in the first half, the Falcon offense had found ways to move the ball, mostly with quarterback Jason Wilkinson moving out of the pocket and finding receivers downfield. Wilkinson finished with 293 passing yards and two touchdowns.
After the Falcons cut the lead to 17-12, the Argonauts struck back. Antunez had a big 47-yard run that got Garden Grove down to the Falcon 15 yard line. Three plays later, quarterback Joseph Camarillo hit Malik Bilal with a pass in the flat.
Bilal had to break a tackle then found some blockers near the goal line to complete the 15-yard touchdown and push the Garden Grove League back to 24-12. Garden Grove had been able to move the ball much of the night, but wasn’t always able to convert.
“We did a good job of moving the ball, we just couldn’t finish,” Cepeda said.
But the Falcons had also found a rhythm and responded with another scoring drive to get back in the game. They would get a 31-yard touchdown pass from Wilkinson to Malcolm Wesley with 3:38 left in the game to cut the lead to 24-19.
This time, the Argonauts’ offense was unable to run out the clock and the Falcons got the ball back at their own 29-yard line with 1:25 left in the game. But Garden Grove defensive back TJ Taufetee intercepted a pass on the first play of the drive that sealed the victory.
It was a game that saw both teams make big plays and both teams make pivotal mistakes. The difference may have been Garden Grove’s experience, Cepeda said.
“Our kids have been there before, I think that was the difference in the game,” Cepeda said.
Antunez had touchdown runs of 26 and 42 yards in the first half to give the Argonauts their 14-0 halftime lead. The shutout ended in the third, when Garden Grove defenders gambled on an interception instead of containing the receiver. The result was a 74-yard touchdown pass for the Falcons.
Brea Olinda was a 49-28 winner over Godinez in their quarterfinal win. Noah Rivera and Andrew Chammas rushed for a combined 276 yards for the Wildcats. Garden Grove will host Brea on Friday, Nov. 27, at 7 p.m. at Garden Grove High.
Brea was the fourth seed in the bracket. In the other half, both No. 2 seed Katella and No. 3 seed Segerstrom were unset in their quarterfinal games. Cepeda said his team needs to play better down the stretch, but knows his players are up for the challenge.
“We’re the defending champions until somebody beats us,” Cepeda said.
