SOUTHERN SECTION FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : Laguna Hills Stays Close but Winds Up Losing to Bloomington : Division VIII: The Hawks extend Bruins into the fourth quarter before falling, 34-21.

The Laguna Hills Hawks met up with the irresistible force known as Bloomington High and held the Bruins better than any of their previous 12 opponents.

But it wasn’t enough to win the game. Despite holding the Bruins 32 points below their average, the Hawks fell, 34-21, in the Division VIII semifinals before an estimated crowd of 7,000 at Colton High School.

Bloomington will face La Mirada in the title game next week.

Laguna Hills (10-3) will take little solace in the fact that they made the 13-0 Bruins sweat out a victory for the first time this season. Most Bloomington games have been over by the first quarter; Saturday night they would need all four to win.

“They were the best and most physical defense we’ve seen,” said Bloomington running back Greg Oliver, who led all rushers with 197 yards in 18 carries.

It was 28-21 when the Bruins, on fourth and inches from their own 20, clinched the victory on Oliver’s 80-yard gallop with 7:14 left to play. Clearing the lane for Oliver was fullback Cheyane Caldwell, who added 161 yards in 16 carries and scored once.

“They ran some things we hadn’t seen before,” said Laguna Hills Coach Steve Bresnahan. “I thought we adjusted pretty good by the second quarter. But they made big plays when they had to, including that last touchdown.”

The Bruins needed 27 points to better the national single-season scoring record of 824 set by Big Sandy (Tex.) High in 1975. They got it with 43 seconds left in the third quarter, on David Smith’s 19-yard touchdown run.

It didn’t start out as a fun week for the Hawks’ staff as they tried to find ways to stop Bloomington.

“Whenever we asked other schools for film and told them we were playing Bloomington,” assistant coach Marty Spaulding said, “they looked at us as if we had just run over their dog.”

The inference was clear to Spaulding; whoever stood in front the point-hungry Bruins was sure to be thrashed, and possibly embarrassed.

But that did not happen to Laguna Hills.

Bloomington broke out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead on touchdown runs of 25 and 28 yards by Oliver and Caldwell, and a rout seemed imminent.

The Hawks shook off the mesmerizing effect of the Bruins’ double wing-T offense, however, to make a game of it. McGraw, who had only three net yards in his first six carries, broke loose for a 63-yard touchdown run around the left side. And Corey Pardoe, who threw for 120 yards but completed only five passes, found Jeff Gahagan for a 15-yard scoring pass with 42 seconds left in the half.

Still, even when Bloomington made mistakes they worked in the Bruins’ favor. After McGraw’s touchdown romp, Caldwell broke free for 73 yards from the Bloomington 20 to the Laguna Hills seven. A penalty took them out to the 19, and on a third-and-15 play, Adam Rodriguez sprinted for 12 yards but fumbled at the three. Buell picked up the ball and ran into the end zone.