ORANGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL / PREP EXTRA : DIVISION VII : Los Amigos Struggles to Defeat Righetti, Ends Playoff Victory Drought

Aesthetically, Los Amigos’ 24-21 victory over Santa Maria Righetti was about as pretty as the night--cold and damp. The Lobos turned over the ball four times--two fumbles and two interceptions--and were flagged for five fourth-quarter penalties.

But Los Amigos Coach Roger Takahashi, in sore need of a playoff victory, wasn’t concerned how it looked.

“There has been a big monkey on our backs,” Takahashi said. “We’ll take it. We’ll regroup and move on from here.”

Los Amigos (9-2) will move on to the Southern Section Division VII quarterfinals next week against West Covina South Hills, a 22-15 winner over Beverly Hills. The Lobos’ playoff victory was their first in four years. They lost in the first round the past two years.

“I don’t want to be negative,” Takahashi said. “I’m just glad we won.”

Los Amigos won partly because of Takahashi’s smart use of timeouts before halftime. Righetti was pinned down inside its 10-yard line when Takahashi called two of his three timeouts. Los Amigos’ Greg Fausto returned the punt 10 yards and Fausto scored three plays later on a three-yard run with six seconds left. The score was set up by La Rue Carr’s 37-yard reception from quarterback Jacob Sanchez.

“We were just hoping to get three and we wound up with seven,” Takahashi said. “It worked out.”

Fausto scored Los Amigos’ first two touchdowns on a five-yard run and a 26-yard pass reception from Sanchez. He finished with 82 yards rushing in 22 carries and 62 yards receiving on six catches. But he fumbled twice.

“He’s a big-play runner,” Takahashi said. “He’s susceptible to fumbles because he runs so hard. We’ll take the good with the bad.”

Los Amigos pushed its 21-7 halftime lead to 24-7 on Ryan Cleary’s 47-yard field goal at the end of the third quarter. It seemed meaningless at the time, but the kick proved to be the difference.

Two Los Amigos turnovers led to two Righetti touchdowns--both coming on short pass plays from quarterback Tommy Criner to Jason Ferkel. The last score came on the game’s final play.

Righetti’s running game was shut down for much of the game. Leading rusher Robert Hazzard was held to 18 yards in 11 carries. The passing game wasn’t much better as Criner completed nine of 24 for 94 yards. He was also sacked seven times for minus 58 yards. Five of the sacks were by outside linebacker Sam Faamasilli.

Righetti finished 4-7.