Orange County Prep Review : Overcoming Big 4th-Period Deficit Is All in Night’s Work for La Habra

Hey, coach, having problems getting the most out of your football players? Been smashing clipboards and hurling headphones in frustration, trying to get your high school kids to play up to their potential?

Take a tip from La Habra High School Coach Bob Rau.

Give your players a little adversity--something like a 20-point deficit in the fourth period.

Works like a charm for Rau and the Highlanders.

In La Habra’s season opener against Warren 10 weeks ago, the Highlanders trailed, 20-0, in the fourth quarter before scoring three touchdowns and a safety to pull out a 23-20 victory.

They did it again Friday night against University in the first round of the Southern Section Central Conference playoffs. La Habra was behind, 27-7, in the fourth period, but scored four touchdowns for a 35-27 victory.

“It took us 40 minutes, but things finally started to function,” Rau said. “Then, we got on a roll and began to play like La Habra. We played about 40 minutes of inept football, eight minutes of our football, and that was enough.”

Rau called Friday night’s comeback “amazing,” but, considering what the Highlanders did in the season opener, maybe it wasn’t all that improbable.

At least, it didn’t seem that way to La Habra quarterback Matt Shackelford.

“When it was 27-7, the Warren game popped into my mind,” the junior said. “I just had a feeling that we could come back.”

Shackelford was largely responsible for the Highlanders’ victory over Warren as he threw three touchdown passes to John Robertson in the fourth period. Friday night, he came off the bench to complete 22 of 34 passes for 281 yards, two for touchdowns in the last quarter.

Shackelford started the first five games this season but separated his shoulder against Troy. Robertson, who had played running back, filled in and threw for about 300 yards and 7 touchdowns in the Highlanders’ final four regular-season games.

Shackelford recovered from his injury two weeks ago and returned at cornerback, but Rau stuck with Robertson, who had led La Habra to three straight victories, at quarterback.

“John came in and did a good job,” Rau said. “I don’t care if you’ve got Roger Clemens in the bullpen, when you have a guy throwing a no-hitter, you stay with him.”

But Robertson was ineffective in the first quarter against University. He threw an interception, the Highlanders’ offense was struggling, and the Trojans had a 14-0 lead after the first 12 minutes. Rau changed quarterbacks early in the second quarter, and the move finally paid off in the fourth.

“Matt’s coming on right now, and we’ll probably go with him (in Friday night’s game against Anaheim),” Rau said. “But if he struggles, we’ll go with John. We’re blessed with two good quarterbacks.”

Shackelford wasn’t happy about losing the quarterback position late in the regular season but had no complaints afterward.

“That was the most balls I’ve thrown in my life,” he said. “We came out throwing in the second half. My arm was about to fall off, but it was fun.”

Big Flop: Orange County teams went 0 for 4 in the first round of the Big Five Conference playoffs, giving Marina, Edison, Westminster and Servite the dubious distinction of making the county’s worst showing in the Big Five playoffs since the Southern Section went to the conference format in 1977.

The previous worst showing was in 1977, when Fountain Valley was eliminated in the second round and Newport Harbor was eliminated in the semifinals. Since then, Orange County has placed a team in seven of the last nine Big Five Conference championship games, winning five titles and one co-championship.

It was a humbling night for the once-proud Sunset League, which has produced three Big Five champions and a co-champion since 1978. League champion Marina lost to Loyola, 7-0; second-place Edison lost to Crespi, 21-8, and third-place Westminster lost to Bishop Amat, 35-7.

But at least the Sunset League didn’t have four teams lose in the first round, as the Ocean League did in the Southern Conference playoffs. Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Hawthorne and Culver City, a wild-card team, all were eliminated.

Same Time Next Year: When Foothill plays Mission Viejo in the second round of the Southern Conference playoffs Friday night, it will mark the fourth straight year that the Knights and Diablos have met in the quarterfinals.

Mission Viejo leads the postseason series, 2-1, having defeated Foothill 14-8 last year and 16-13 in overtime in 1984. The Knights beat the Diablos in 1983 (23-14) on their way to the Southern Conference championship game.

“I usually say I don’t care who we play in the playoffs as long as we keep playing,” Foothill Coach Ted Mullen said. “But it would be fun to play someone else because they’ve handled us so well.”

Lost and Found Dept.: If anyone notices a guy about 6-feet 3-inches, 180 pounds with blond hair, wandering aimlessly around the Los Alamitos practice field after school today, don’t bother calling school authorities to investigate. It’s probably Griffin quarterback Tom Williamson.

In an interview before last Friday’s Southern Conference playoff game against Foothill, Williamson was discussing the prospects of losing to the Knights.

“I don’t know what I’d do,” the senior said. “I’d probably feel lost if we weren’t out here Monday practicing, with no coaches telling us what to do. It’s been that way for so long--for four years--it’s hard to tell what would happen.”

He’ll find out today. Williamson has had two days to mull over the Griffins’ season-shattering 21-0 loss in which he threw 5 interceptions, completed 9 of 25 passes for 99 yards and was sacked 4 times.

Add Williamson: The worldly senior, who, as Los Alamitos High’s Boys State Representative, spent time studying state government this summer in Sacramento, had this opinion of high school:

“Some people would say I’m a dork if I like it and others would say I’m stupid if I don’t. I guess it’s OK.”

Mr. Big: Western had the size advantage over Tustin on both the offensive and defensive lines and the sidelines Friday night. That’s where Western’s Tom Cisa, a 6-3, 425-pound junior, was stationed for the Central Conference playoff game on Northrup Field.

Cisa, who moved to Anaheim from Florida this fall, was brought up from the junior varsity team for the playoffs. He didn’t play in the Pioneers’ 21-14 loss but is hoping to see varsity action this winter on the wrestling team.

Worst Cheer of the Year: Unanimous vote to the Corona del Mar water polo fans, who, during the third quarter of Friday night’s 4-A championship match against Sunny Hills, directed this chant toward the Lancer student section:

“We’ve got the beach, we’ve got the sand. You’re so poor, you live inland!”

Sunny Hills, of course, got the last laugh. At the precise moment the cheer ended, the Lancers’ Bill Slope scored to tie the game, 4-4, and Sunny Hills went on to defeat the Sea Kings, 6-5, to win the title.

In your face.

Prep Notes

Saddleback won a coin flip at the Southern Section office Sunday and will play host to Sunny Hills Friday night in Santa Ana Stadium in the Central Conference quarterfinals. . . . Valencia High School had four interceptions in its 29-12 Central Conference victory over Los Amigos Friday to increase its county-leading total to 28. The county’s interception record for a season is 32, set by Pacifica in 1978 and tied by Los Amigos in 1981. . . . Tustin running back Lani Machado needs 49 yards to break the Tiller single-season rushing record of 1,091 yards set by Darren Webster in 1984. Machado gained 78 yards in Tustin’s victory over Western Friday to bring his season total to 1,043 yards. . . . Esperanza defensive back/wide receiver Don Herrick, who missed the Aztecs’ 13-12 victory over Santa Monica Friday night with an ankle injury, and tight end Bob Conner, who has missed two games with a deep thigh bruise, will return for their school’s second-round game against Santa Ana this week. . . . Southern Section administrator Karen Hellyer and Southern California Soccer Coaches’ Assn. President Roger Bryant of South Torrance will be the guest speakers at a meeting of Orange County boys’ and girls’ soccer coaches at 7:30 tonight in the Brea-Olinda High School auditorium. . . . The first J.P. Yamasaki Jr. Memorial Tennis Tournament, honoring the memory of one of Orange County’s most promising junior players, will be held Dec. 6-7 and 13-14 at the Santiago Tennis Club in Orange. Yamasaki, a sophomore at Servite, was killed last April in a skiing accident at Mammoth Mountain. Proceeds from the event, which will feature an opening address by Jack Kramer, will go into the J. P. Yamasaki Foundation, set up to provide funding for college scholarships, junior development programs and international student/player exchanges. For more information, contact Mike Nelson or Leesa Walker at 997-0682. . . . The eight Empire League basketball teams will play their first league games on Dec. 17 in the Anaheim Convention Center. . . . The Troy basketball team, during a fund-raiser developed by first-year Coach Ed Graham, collected 1,950 cans of food Saturday to donate to three Fullerton charities. The food drive also benefited the Warriors’ basketball program as local merchants pledged funds for every can of food collected.