Mistakes Knock Out Los Amigos : DIVISION VII

Arroyo Grande capitalized on two early Los Amigos mistakes and held on to score a 21-13 upset against Los Amigos in the first round of the Southern Section Division VII playoffs Friday night at Bolsa Grande High School.

A costly penalty and a fumble allowed Arroyo Grande (5-5) to take a 14-0 second-quarter lead and had the favored Lobos (9-2) trying to play catch-up the rest of the game.

Los Amigos’ first big mistake--12 men on the field--nullified a blocked punt that would have given the Lobos the ball on the Arroyo Grande 31. Instead, Arroyo Grande went for a first down and got more than it bargained for when Joe Weller broke clear for a 60-yard touchdown run.

After Los Amigos fumbled the ball to Arroyo Grande’s Mark Vasquez on the Golden Eagle 33, Arroyo Grande wide receiver Travis Jones scored on the first play of the second quarter on a 67-yard reverse and Sean Venturini’s conversion made the score 14-0.

“We thought we had a solid game plan,” Los Amigos Coach Steve Bolton said. “We did not take them lightly. We took them very, very seriously.”

Los Amigos finally scored with 8:10 left in the second quarter on a 60-yard drive capped by quarterback Ape Tuato’s eight-yard run.

But Arroyo Grande controlled the ball most of the second half, amassing 275 yards rushing for the game with Weller gaining 140 yards on 15 carries and Jones 111 yards in six carries.

Arroyo Grande took a 21-7 fourth-quarter lead on Jones’ three-yard touchdown run.