Western Wins One and Then Loses

Western won the football game, but the disappointment still showed on Coach Jim Howell’s face afterward.

The Pioneers beat Anaheim, 10-7, Friday night to force a three-way tie for the Orange League title with Valencia and Anaheim.

But Western will go the the Southern Section Division VI playoffs next week as the league’s third-place entry after losing a postgame coin-flip that determined playoff order.

“If we go all the way, we’ll have to beat them all,” Howell said after the flip. “At least we’re in the playoffs. We’ll do the best we can.”

Anaheim won the three-way flip, and Valencia earned the second position based on the Tigers’ 33-10 victory over Western this season.

All three teams finished with 4-1 league records. It was Anaheim’s first league championship since 1977, and Western’s first since 1985.

Both Western and Anaheim struggled on offense Friday, with Anaheim gaining only 136 yards and Western 128.

“Everything we got tonight was begrudgingly,” Howell said.

Western (8-2) built a 7-0 halftime lead by capitalizing on a fumble recovery by Ray Gonzalez at the Colonist seven-yard line with 8:04 left in the first quarter. Three plays later, Brandon Brennan threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Phillip Hurt.

Jason Covarrubias’ 34-yard field goal with 59 seconds left in the third quarter pushed the lead to 10-0.

Then Anaheim made it close.

The Colonists recovered a fumble by Pioneer fullback Matt Miller at the Western 27 with 9:24 left in the fourth quarter.

Anaheim fullback Brian Diaz scored on a three-yard run to cut the deficit to 10-7 with 7:44 left.

The Colonists had two more drives in the fourth quarter, but didn’t score.

The first ended when Jason Diaz intercepted a Phil Covarrubias pass at the Western 49 and returned it to the Anaheim 25 with 4:08 left.

Western drove to the Anaheim 10, but Brian Norris’ pass on a fake field-goal attempt fell incomplete, giving Anaheim the ball, and a last chance, with 2:26 remaining.

But Anaheim’s drive died when a Covarrubias pass on fourth down bounced off the chest of Jaime Carlos, who was wide-open near midfield.

“We can’t make that many mistakes against a great team like Western and expect to win,” Anaheim Coach Todd Borowski said.

Anaheim’s offense was slowed by the absence of tailback Che Garcia, who sat out with a bruised shoulder.

With Garcia out, Western keyed on Diaz, who entered the game averaging 113 yards a game. He was held to 29 yards in 13 carries.