SOUTHERN SECTION CENTRAL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP : Revenge a Factor for Bolsa Grande : Matadors’ 24-7 Victory Evens the Score With Valencia

It wasn’t enough that Bolsa Grande High School won the Central Conference championship with its 24-7 victory over Valencia Friday night at Orange Coast College.

With it came a measure of revenge, a chance to right the wrong that Bolsa Grande believed it suffered at the hands of Valencia last October.

The only blemish on Bolsa Grande’s 13-1 record this season was a 33-10 loss to the Tigers in nonleague competition.

“Yes, it (revenge) was a big, big factor this week,” Bolsa Grande Coach Greg Shadid said. “It was something we talked about, but in a positive way--here was our chance to make a better showing than we did last time. It’s not often you get second chances like that in the same season.”

First, a little history.

Shadid said that when Bolsa Grande played Valencia in the fifth game of the season, his Matadors were intimidated because the Tigers had beaten Bolsa Grande in 1985, 48-0.

When the teams met in October, Bolsa Grande was 4-0 but played tentatively. Valencia’s Dorian Estes scored three touchdowns in the first quarter en route to the victory.

This time, Shadid just wanted to stay close until halftime, regroup, then go for the victory.

The game went according to Shadid’s plan as the Matadors were tied at halftime, 7-7.

“We knew if the game was close at halftime we could win because the kids’ confidence would be up,” Shadid said. “Sure enough, we hung on until halftime and then outplayed them from there.”

After the game, the Bolsa Grande players were savoring the bright lights, television cameras, awards from the Southern Section, and the sweetest of all, the roar of its home crowd that filled Bolsa Grande’s side of the LeBard Stadium stands.

“You know, if we would have played Sunny Hills (instead of Valencia) in the final, Valencia still could have said, ‘Well, we’re the better team because we already beat you,’ ” said Bolsa Grande running back Travin Lui. “Now they can’t say that. We beat them when it counted the most. We’re the champs.”