La Quinta’s Unlikely Run for Playoffs Continues
La Quinta’s amazing season continued Thursday night with a 44-25 victory over Rancho Alamitos at Bolsa Grande High.
The Aztecs’ victory was their first over Rancho Alamitos (4-5, 2-3) since 1990 and most likely clinched a playoff berth, which would be their first since 1990. The Vaqueros’ loss eliminated them from the playoffs for the first time in the 1990s.
“It feels good,” said La Quinta Coach Jeff Veeder, after being doused with a cooler full of ice water. “We’re making history this season.”
The Aztecs (7-2, 3-2), which outscored Rancho 24-6 in the second half, can make history with a victory next week at Garden Grove. If La Quinta wins, it would clinch third place and the Garden Grove League’s last automatic playoff berth. Santiago (6-2, 3-2) could tie La Quinta with victories over Bolsa Grande and first-place Pacifica, but La Quinta owns the tiebreaker because of its win over Santiago.
The Aztecs’ victory featured several big individual performances, the biggest from running back Hai Duyen Nguyen, who left early in the first quarter with a badly sprained right ankle, but returned a few series later and wound up rushing for 158 yards and two touchdowns in 21 carries.
“I thought I was done,” said Nguyen, who entered the night as the county’s third leading rusher. “But I wanted to play since it was our last home game. I couldn’t feel anything when I was in the game. It was all adrenaline. The only pain I felt was when I was on the sidelines.”
La Quinta quarterback Thi Huyhn showed a little character, too. Huyhn, all 5-foot-7, 151 pounds of him, accounted for nearly 300 yards of offense, running for 59 yards and a touchdown and passing for 230 yards with 11 completions in 13 attempts.
La Quinta’s most spectacular performance was turned in by tight end Ben Fredrickson, who caught seven passes for 147 yards, the highlight coming in the fourth quarter on a flat pass. Fredrickson pulled in the pass with his left hand, then hurdled over one Rancho defender and then another before he was tackled after a 13-yard gain.