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ORANGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL / PREP EXTRA : DIVISION VII : Los Amigos Finds Its Way Back to Semifinals

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SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Los Amigos Coach Roger Takahashi believed his team needed to make big plays to beat West Covina South Hills. It took the Lobos four seconds to make one.

With Jacob Sanchez and Greg Fausto leading the way, Los Amigos advanced to a Southern Section semifinal for the first time in 14 years with a 34-7 second-round victory in a Division VII contest Friday night at Covina District Stadium.

Sanchez and Fausto, who finished with 168 yards rushing in 20 carries, each scored twice as the Lobos broke open a close contest in the second half to advance.

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The Lobos (9-2), whose last appearance in a semifinal was in 1981, will meet Lompoc in a semifinal next Saturday at a site to be determined.

Against South Hills, two first-quarter turnovers gave Los Amigos all the fuel it needed. The Lobos got their first break on the Huskies’ first play when Falemanu Vailoetama Jr. recovered a fumbled snap by South Hills quarterback Bryan Banta at the Huskies’ 16. On the next play, Sanchez scored on a 16-yard run for a 7-0 lead with only 24 seconds gone.

Sanchez gave the Lobos a 13-0 advantage when he returned a interception 74 yards for a score after Shaun Tagatauli nailed Banta as he was attempting a pass with 7 minutes 51 seconds remaining in the first quarter. It turned out to be all the Lobos needed.

South Hills (7-5) cut the lead to 13-7 on a 38-yard touchdown pass by Banta to David Chidester with 2:03 left in the quarter. It stayed that way until the Lobos got third-quarter touchdowns by Tagatauli and Fasto, who ran for 133 yards in the second half.

Fausto’s 38-yard scoring run late in the fourth quarter capped the scoring for Los Amigos (10-2).

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