HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : San Pasqual Leaves Carlsbad Behind Early

Carlsbad High’s football team, which was late arriving in the playoffs--it was awarded an at-large berth 2 days after the pairings were announced--also seemed to arrive late for its playoff opener Friday night at San Pasqual High School.

Carlsbad was there in uniform for the 7:30 kickoff, all excited about the gift Monday that disqualified Grossmont and put the Lancers in the playoffs at the 11th hour. But it didn’t seem like it was really there.

Where was the offense? For the first 7 minutes 52 seconds of the first quarter, it was on the bench waiting to get in.

Where was Ron Williams’ head when he took a San Pasqual kickoff with his team trailing, 7-0, early in the first quarter? Williams caught the ball on his 10, circled the wrong way and ran into his end zone, where he was tackled for a safety.

And where was the Carlsbad defense? It was on the field but surrendered 130 yards on the ground and 2 touchdowns before the offense played a down.

After all this, as might be expected, defending section 2-A champion San Pasqual put it in cruise control and eased to a 23-8 victory.

The Eagles (7-4) will meet City Central League champion Lincoln in a second-round game next Saturday night at Mesa College.

“In that first quarter, you got a chance to see what this San Pasqual team is capable of,” San Pasqual Coach Mike Dolan said. “Everybody was healthy and playing his best.”

San Pasqual took the opening kickoff at its own 35 and marched 65 yards in 12 running plays for a 7-0 lead. Tony Medina capped the drive on a 2-yard run off left tackle.

Medina kicked off and Carlsbad’s Williams fielded the ball at his own 10 on the right hashmark. He reversed his field immediately and was pushed backwards by San Pasqual pursuit. By the time he realized where he was, he was in the end zone, being tackled by Bob Switzer.

San Pasqual took possession after the free kick and drove 65 yards for another score. Quarterback Andy Loveland ran 41 yards to the Carlsbad 1, setting up Medina’s second touchdown of the game.

It was 16-0, San Pasqual, and only then did Carlsbad’s offense finally take the field.

But being there wasn’t enough. By the time quarterback Jesse Medina completed his first pass for positive yardage, it was the fourth quarter. And by then, it was 23-0. Loveland had passed 9 yards for a touchdown to Jeff Markey just before halftime.

Carlsbad (6-4-1) finally scored on a Medina pass to Jeff Myers of 15 yards with 5 seconds remaining in the game.