SOUTHERN SECTION FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : Lompoc Eliminates Los Amigos : Division VII: Lobos take a beating in 46-6 loss in the semifinal game.

The frustration was evident the first few times Lompoc touched the football Saturday night in its Southern Section Division VII semifinal against overmatched Los Amigos at Bolsa Grande High.

A fumble snuffed out the Braves’ first drive deep in Los Amigos territory and then a poorly executed field-goal attempt was partially blocked.

When their second possession ended around midfield with a punt, Brave players could be seen pounding their fists into the damp turf.

The third time around proved to be the charm, as Lompoc took over as Los Amigos Coach Roger Takahashi had expected. The Braves scored the next seven times they touched the ball and won in a rout, 46-6, in front of about 800.

“We had only one plan and that was to come in here and kill them and we did,” said Lompoc defensive end T.J. Jackson of a defensive effort that produced three turnovers and limited Los Amigos to two first downs through nearly three quarters.

Running back Dennis Gibbs ran for 155 yards and two scores. Quarterback Nick Terrones completed only three passes, two to tight end Ryan Clevenger for touchdowns.

Lompoc (12-1) will play unbeaten Covina (13-0), in next week’s division final. Covina defeated Fullerton, 34-0, Friday.

Los Amigos was clearly out of its league against Lompoc, which has scored 113 points in three playoff games.

“They really are at a different level than us,” Takahashi said. “We just couldn’t execute. We didn’t do anything different from a standpoint of how we have played all year, but they just didn’t let us do it.”

And that is saying something. Los Amigos had scored 58 points in two playoff appearances coming in and figured to give the Braves some trouble because they mixed the run and the pass well over their last five games.

But Jackson and his cohorts had other ideas. Jackson was in on, or made, just about every tackle, thwarting the Lobos at every turn before he and many other starters left the game midway through the third quarter with the score 46-0.

Lobos running back Greg Fausto, who had accounted for more than 1,800 yards and 18 touchdowns in rushing and receiving entering the game, was held to only 46 yards in combined offense in the first half as Lompoc built a 29-0 lead. Fausto finished with 85 yards rushing and 20 yards in receiving, some of that helping set up the Lobos’ only score, an eight-yard run by quarterback Jacob Sanchez against a second-string defense with 2:30 left.

“We knew we had to stop him,” said Gibbs, who also plays defense.

After watching Fullerton get beaten by Covina, a team he compared to Lompoc in size and strength, Takahashi said he went home and had a bad dream. He admitted the dream came true on the field Saturday night.

“It was my worst nightmare that we wouldn’t matchup with Lompoc,” he said, “My worst nightmare came true. We just couldn’t run or pass.”

After the game, Lompoc Coach Robin Luken was confident and content.

“You want to get to the big dance, you’ve got to step up,” he said of the team’s championship appearance next week. “We asked our guys to play at a different level. We wanted to go to the show.”