Block Party for Westlake

Westlake High, always talented, always entertaining, added several more distinctions Friday night.

Toughness. Tenacity . . .

And champion.

Buoyed by an unlikely touchdown catch and a critical blocked kick, the Warriors survived a frenetic fourth quarter to defeat San Luis Obispo, 24-21, in front of 9,500 at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and capture the Southern Section Division IV football title.

It is the Warriors’ first championship in nine playoff appearances under Coach Jim Benkert.

“You can never imagine winning a CIF championship, but this was my best team and they never stopped believing in themselves,” said Benkert, who completed his 11th season.

Westlake (13-1) did it with defense, holding top-seeded San Luis Obispo’s vaunted ground game to 109 yards. The Tigers (12-2) passed for 194 yards, including a 54-yard reception by Scott Dodge that moved the ball to the 12-yard line with four minutes to play and Westlake clinging to its three-point lead.

Three running plays gained only four yards, and Ben Lorier blocked a 24-yard field-goal attempt with 1:47 left.

The winning touchdown was scored by Michael Brignac, who stayed focused on a pass by Zac Wasserman while it zipped through the hands of defensive back Bobby Speicher and into his own at the 10-yard line. The score, with 6:20 to play, capped a 75-yard drive that followed two San Luis Obispo scores.

“Big-time players make big-time plays, that’s usually the difference in a close game,” Benkert said.

Westlake appeared on its way to a hard-fought defensive victory until the Tigers scored twice within 30 seconds in the fourth quarter. Fullback Scott Garrison rambled 35 yards on a fourth-down reception to cut Westlake’s lead to 17-14, then following a Warrior fumble on first down, Garrison scooted 29 yards for a touchdown and a 21-17 San Luis Obispo advantage with 8:17 left.

“When they scored twice that fast, our offense just said, ‘Let’s take the ball down the field and score,’ ” Westlake lineman Keith Holt said.

Toughness and tenacity, qualities Westlake developed so well this season, never came in more handy.

“There was no way we were going to lose this ballgame,” said Jordan Lampos, the Westlake linebacker most responsible for holding San Luis Obispo tailback Khaled Elmasri to 68 yards in 23 carries.

The first half was marred by five turnovers, although the Warriors opened the game as if they were headed for a blowout.

Westlake needed only five plays to move 80 yards for a 7-0 lead on the opening possession. And the Warriors’ major weapons--Brignac, Julian Lambert and Chris Catalano--never touched the ball.

A pass on the first play to tight end Scott Benkert gained 34 yards and a sweep on the second by Josh Golden gained 32. Wasserman hit Dan Catalano--Chris’ brother--from 12 yards for the touchdown.

The second of Wasserman’s three first-half interceptions cost the Warriors. T.J. Cathcart tipped the ball in the air and linebacker Levi Olson caught it at the Westlake 13 and scored in the first minute of the second quarter.