Rancho Alamitos Is Blitzed by Mira Costa : DIVISION VII

Afterward, Manhattan Beach Mira Costa’s Phil Fonua came up and hugged Rancho Alamitos’ Kevin Allen and congratulated him on a good game. The scene was all too familiar to Allen, who had spent most of night locked in an embrace with the rock-solid junior nosegard.

After breaking the opening kickoff for 65 yards, Allen spent the rest of evening trying to get untracked. He never did. Neither did his teammates. Rancho Alamitos was thoroughly outplayed by Mira Costa and beaten, 29-17, in the Southern Section Division VII finals at El Camino College in front of an estimated crowd of 6,000.

Mira Costa finished 13-1 and won its first section title. Rancho Alamitos (9-4-1) lost for the second consecutive year in the final.

Allen, who was averaging 212 in the Vaqueros’ three playoff games, was held to minus-10 yards in 11 carries.

“Are you serious?” Rancho Alamitos quarterback John Frank said when told of Allen’s rushing total. “I didn’t think that was possible.”

But Fonua and his buddies up front made it possible by bringing seven and sometimes eight players on blitzes in an all-out effort to stop Allen, a 5-foot-8, 155-pound junior.

Fonua, a 6-2, 265-pound junior, had seen Allen on film and was worried about the prospects of trying to run down Allen.

“He was real fast,” Fonua said. “I’m not as fast as him.”

But Fonua didn’t need to be fast, simply quick. On the first play from scrimmage, Fonua exploded through the line and stopped Allen for a loss of two yards. Allen’s next carry was his biggest gain of the night, a burst of six yards.

But eight of Allen’s remaining nine attempts resulted in negative yardage. Often, Allen had barely touched the ball when he was met by Fonua or another Mira Costa defender.

“We tried double-teaming him, but that opened other people up,” Rancho Alamitos Coach Doug Case said. “We thought we could hit the middle with quick-hitters, but that didn’t quite work out.”

Said Allen: “He’s a great player. We couldn’t seem to stop him all night. They were ready for the running game. Our offensive line just could never get going. I guess we got the passing going too late.”

But Frank didn’t have much luck throwing either. He completed 10 of 18 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns. But he threw three interceptions and he was sacked twice. The touchdown passes of 15 and 60 yards to Jeff Turbarg came in the fourth quarter after Mira Costa had built a 23-3 lead.

“Everything we ran, they stopped,” Frank said. “They watched a lot of films.”

Mira Costa viewed a few defensive films too. They moved the ball on the ground with ease, rushing for 240 yards.

Mike Fikes, a junior transfer from Victorville Victor Valley High, ran for 154 yards and a game-clinching 59-yard touchdown on 23 carries. Ron Hand had 77 yards in eight carries, including a 58-yard run that gave the Mustangs their first touchdown and a 7-3 lead.

The score came after Rancho Alamitos place-kicker Tony Luce kicked a 46-yard first-quarter field goal that was set up by Allen’s kickoff return.