Quartz Hill’s Magic Touch Vanishes

That’s the funny thing about magic. As suddenly as it appears--poof!--it’s gone.

Quartz Hill High came into Anaheim Stadium on Friday night with chests puffed out and chins held high. If this Southern Section Division I championship game against Loyola is close at halftime, then the rings will belong to the Rebels.

After all, who had even challenged Quartz Hill in the second half this year? That list isn’t long enough to fill a magician’s tuxedo pocket.

Coming in, Quartz Hill had outscored opponents in the second half, 122-0, in its previous five games, 159-7 in its previous seven. Whatever sorcery the Rebels had conjured up, opponents walked away baffled week after week, checking their helmets for rabbits and their pockets for their wallets.

And then, here in the Big A, before 10,103, Quartz Hill trailed at the half by just three. The Rebels had the Cubs right where they wanted them.

But when Coach John Albee said abracadabra, nothing happened. Quartz Hill, playing in its first championship game, fell to the Cubs, 24-14, after trailing at halftime, 17-14.

Loyola banned magic Friday night. The Cubs walked out of the lounge halfway through the show and took the championship trophy with them.

From the beginning of the third quarter, Loyola (12-2) let Quartz Hill know that things would be different. On just the fourth play of the second half, Cub quarterback Corby Smith dropped a step and fired a lateral to wide receiver Jim Gruettner, who lofted a pass downfield.

All alone down the left sideline ran Chris Walker. The Quartz Hill secondary was red-faced. The ball found Walker at about the 10-yard line. He bobbled it slightly, then waltzed into the end zone with a 46-yard touchdown.

Suddenly, Quartz Hill trailed, 24-14, and a team had scored on the Rebels in the second half for the first time in more than a month. If you listened closely, you could hear the air seeping out of the balloon.

“That should have never happened,” Albee said with a sigh after the game, while Loyola celebrated raucously across the field.

Quartz Hill quarterback Jake Haro, who completed five of six passes for 111 yards in the first half, could feel the aura of invincibility starting to fade. Haro finished eight of 14 for 143 yards with two second-half interceptions.

“That one play just killed us,” he said.

Somehow, Quartz Hill (11-3) clawed back to the brink of another magical finish. Late in the third quarter, the Rebels drove to the Loyola 18-yard line, but Haro’s pass was picked off by Drew Casani, the Angelus League defensive MVP, at the five-yard line.

One chance remained for the Rebels. One chance to convince the crowd and a SportsChannel television audience that the second-half magic still existed.

Early in the fourth quarter, Quartz Hill marched to a first down at the Loyola seven. A third-down run from the one by David Nelson netted nothing.

Fourth down from the one. A pitch to Erik Thomas resulted in a two-yard loss. Loyola’s defensive unit erupted in cheers. No pigeon out of the pocket on this night for the Rebels.

That’s the funny thing about magic. One night, it’s there, and the next night--poof, it’s gone.