Righetti Catches Westlake at Wire

With 12 seconds left and the game on the line, Righetti High sophomore quarterback Ruben Villa put his trust in 6-foot-4 receiver Nick Matautia.

He threw the ball up for grabs in the right corner of the end zone.

It was a jump ball, matching Matautia and 5-11 cornerback Jared Kearns of Westlake. Matautia pulled it down for an improbable nine-yard touchdown pass that gave Righetti a 35-32 upset over Westlake on Friday night in a Southern Section Division III quarterfinal game.

“Oh man, I had total faith in him,” Villa said. “I heaved it and he took it down.”

How in the name of playoff seedings is Righetti (7-5) still alive? Because the Santa Maria team is a lot better than their record indicates. Last week, they stunned second-seeded Crescenta Valley.

No team has moved the ball through the air and on the ground against Westlake this season quite like Righetti did.

Not Hart, not Newbury Park, not Agoura.

Villa, an option quarterback, rushed for 97 yards and passed for 185 yards. Receivers Matautia and 6-3 Scott Smith used their height to repeatedly frustrate the Westlake secondary.

“I don’t know what the heck happened,” Westlake receiver Joey Cuppari said.

Westlake (8-4) was hampered by two pass interceptions and a fumble by sophomore quarterback Zac Wasserman.

Still, Westlake rallied to take a 32-28 lead with 4:11 left on a 17-yard touchdown run by Adam LaLiberte. It was a clutch 66-yard, 13-play drive that featured four third-down conversions.

Jordan Lampos of Westlake stopped Righetti with a fumble recovery on the Westlake 15 with 3:22 left.

But Righetti got the ball back on the Westlake 49 with 2:02 remaining, and Villa connected with Matautia on passes of 19 and 18 yards to keep the drive alive.

Matautia was lying on his back when he caught a tipped ball on the nine-yard line with 17 seconds left on third down and 15.

“They did something no one has done all year on us--pass the football,” Westlake Coach Jim Benkert said.

The loss wiped out a brilliant game by Cuppari, who was returning after missing last week’s playoff opener because of a sprained ankle.

Cuppari scored on a 43-yard pass play on the game’s first offensive play and finished with seven receptions for 203 yards.

His second touchdown reception was a 76-yard play on which he made a one-handed catch and outran the Righetti secondary.

Wasserman completed 13 of 27 passes for 260 yards. J.R. Ross rushed for 92 yards in 15 carries.

Cuppari was close to unstoppable in the first half when Westlake took a 25-20 lead. He had four receptions for 174 yards.

But Westlake lost its chance to have a comfortable halftime lead when Wasserman had a pass intercepted for the 14th time this season. Righetti’s Brian Abercrombie made the interception and returned to the Westlake 11 with 22 seconds left.

Villa scored from the one-yard line with three seconds left to cut the deficit to 25-20.