Poway Defense Puts a Halt to Point Loma

For the eighth time in as many seasons, there will not be a repeat champion of the San Diego Section 3-A football playoff tournament.

Poway High, which fielded a 2-8 squad last year and had won only one playoff game in school history, saw to that by defeating defending champion Point Loma, 14-10, in front of 2,000 at Point Loma High.

“We wanted to prove Poway has a football program,” Poway senior Jeff Pattison said. “A good football program.”

Poway did, claiming its only playoff victory since beating Clairemont, 12-7, in 1980 and avenging a 22-20 playoff loss to Point Loma in 1988. With the victory, the Titans (8-3) will play host to Mira Mesa (6-5) in a quarterfinal game Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Point Loma, 13-1 a year ago, finished 5-6 after losing its first game to a team with more than one regular-season loss and failing to become the first team since Sweetwater in 1983 and ’84 to win consecutive 3-A titles.

Poway held Point Loma to 154 total yards--32 rushing--and eight first downs.

“We knew our defense was strong,” said Pattison, Poway’s leading receiver with four catches for 49 yards, best defensive back and punter. “Our defense was the best in our league, so we were confident we could stop them.”

After Point Loma went backward three, one and seven yards on its first three plays, Poway drove 50 yards in nine plays and went up 7-0 on a Russ Fouts one-yard touchdown run over left guard.

Point Loma tied it fewer than two minutes later, gaining nearly half of its total yards on a three-play, 72-yard drive. In order, quarterback Ben White completed a seven-yard pass to Jacques Ballard, an eight-yarder to Alex Zsidisin and a 57-yarder to Ballard for the touchdown.

Poway quarterback Travis Nichols put the Titans back on top with 4:59 left in the first half, breaking a tackle at the line of scrimmage and dashing 19 yards with an option keeper for the game’s final touchdown.

After a 40-yard field goal by Point Loma’a Garo Schminke early in the third period, the Pointers managed only one first down in its final five possessions and lost a fumble at the Titan 39-yard line with 1:34 left.

Defensive standouts for the Titans included, Pattison, Fouts (fumble recovery in fourth quarter), David Moreno (interception, one sack), Bill Loper (interception), Jason Jones (one sack) and Brett Griffin (one sack).