With One Touchdown, La Quinta Takes One Big Step, 7-0

La Quinta High School took a big step toward its third consecutive Garden Grove League championship with a 7-0 victory over Los Amigos Saturday night in front of 1,000 fans in Garden Grove Stadium.

The Aztecs won their second straight league game, and, more importantly, beat the team most felt was their strongest challenger for the title.

Joe Zeno, La Quinta football coach, had said earlier that his team would have to beat Los Amigos if it hoped to win the title outright. He also said that “the best talent in the league is at Los Amigos.”

For three quarters, it looked as if Zeno was right. The Lobos controlled the line of scrimmage and drove up and down the football field with a potent running game. Unfortunately for Los Amigos, however, the Lobos forgot the way into the end zone.

Los Amigos wasted four scoring opportunities and watched its final scoring drive end when La Quinta linebacker Rick Wilson tipped a short pass from Lobo quarterback Bill Thompson into the air and then intercepted the ball at his own 21-yard line with only 1:24 to play.

The Lobos drove for first downs at La Quinta’s 3, 22, and 15-yard lines in the first half--and each time they were left empty-handed. The Lobos held a 140-70 advantage in total offense at halftime but had nothing to show for it.

“We’ve needed some breaks the past two weeks with three outstanding athletes injured and we’ve gotten them,” Zeno said. “The defense did a heck of a job tonight. Our offense had terrible field position most of the night, but they finally came through.”

La Quinta scored the game’s only touchdown with a 63-yard drive in the fourth quarter. The key play of the drive was a 23-yard pass from quarterback Derek Debbs to wide receiver Dave Harringer, giving the Aztecs a first down at the Los Amigos 15.

Five plays later, Debbs scored on a 1-yard keeper and Scott Armstrong’s extra point broke the scoring drought and pushed La Quinta ahead, 7-0, with 5:29 left to play. But the game was far from over.

Los Amigos mounted a rally beginning at its 18-yard line and methodically moved down the field for a first down at La Quinta’s 25-yard line. But Wilson put an end to the Lobos’ drive with his interception and put a big dent in their title aspirations.

Afterwards, Art Michalik, Los Amigos coach, had little to say. “Right now, I’m not ready to talk to anybody,” he said.

Meanwhile, La Quinta continued to live a charmed life. Last week, the Aztecs held on to a 13-12 win over Bolsa Grande when a Matador receiver dropped a two-point conversion pass in the end zone in the final quarter. Zeno nixed any notions of his team sitting in the driver’s seat for another league title.

“Darrell Crain, Mark McBride and Eric Zeno are all out of the lineup,” Zeno said. “We learned last week that every game is going to be a tough one.”

LQ--Debbs 1 run (Armstrong kick)

Attendance--1,000