Allen Uses Chance to Lead Vaqueros : DIVISION VII

Rancho Alamitos’ Kevin Allen hadn’t touched the ball in five weeks since being replaced at starting tailback by Moukda Choulamany.

But when Choulamany went down with a knee injury in the first quarter, Allen made up for lost time. He carried 21 times for 211 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead the Vaqueros to a 24-14 comeback victory over Troy Friday in the first round of the Southern Section Division VII playoffs at Fullerton High.

Rancho Alamitos (7-3-1) will now meet top-seeded Baldwin Park Sierra Vista (11-0) Friday in the quarterfinals, thanks to Allen’s heroics.

“He was unbelievable,” Rancho Alamitos quarterback John Frank said. “He looked like he was possessed. He wanted the ball every time.”

And after unsuccessfully trying to pass in the first half, Frank gave it to Allen on nearly every play in the second half. Allen, a 5-foot-8 junior who had been playing receiver for the last month, rushed for only eight yards in six carries during the first half, but he gave Troy (7-3-1) a sneak preview of things to come on a 35-yard touchdown off a screen pass with 3 minutes 51 seconds left in the half.

When Allen caught Frank’s pass, it appeared he had nowhere to go but the sideline. But Allen evaded several Troy defenders with a couple stutter-step moves, then cut back across the field and sprinted into the end zone.

“I haven’t seen one of those before in my lifetime,” Rancho Alamitos Coach Doug Case said.

The momentum had seemed to turn minutes before Allen’s touchdown when Troy’s offense stopped itself with two illegal procedure penalties. Until then, the Warriors had been unstoppable--scoring on an eight-play, 51-yard drive and a 67-yard touchdown pass from Brian Logan to Nick Ruzzi.

But Troy’s offense shut down in the second half, while Allen took over.

He tied the score at 14 by scooting around right end, bouncing off a tackle and running 85 yards down the sideline.

On the Warriors’ next possession, they drove the ball to Rancho Alamitos’ 43 before running back Matt Frobenius was stopped a yard short on fourth and two.

Allen took it from there--running for 16, 25, seven, minus-six and six yards on consecutive plays to set up a 26-yard Tony Luce field goal with 5:50 left in the game.

After another Troy punt, Allen finished off his night with runs of 37, two, six, five, two and four. The last being a touchdown with 41 seconds left in the game.

“He was just running through arm tackles and juking us,” said Ruzzi, who played safety and was the last to see Allen on most of his runs. “We had a lead, and then I don’t know what happened. I have no idea.”