Playoff Woes Continue for Garden Grove

The outside world has been a cold place for the Garden Grove League during recent Southern Section playoffs, and it was downright icy for Garden Grove High Friday night.

Unbeaten in league play, the Argonauts became the latest Garden Grove League postseason casualty, falling to San Dimas, 24-7, in the first round of the Division IX playoffs before about 2,000 spectators at Garden Grove.

“We wanted to represent our league well, but we just got beat by a better team,” said third-year Coach Kris Van Hook, who took Garden Grove from a 3-7 record last season to its first league title in eight years and its first playoff berth since 1992. “We’re disappointed, but we’re still the undefeated league champs and we had a good year.”

Garden Grove dominated its six league opponents, averaging 38.2 points and allowing 11 per game.

But the Garden Grove League is 11-19 in the playoffs the past six years, and its 1999 champion was outplayed by the No. 3 playoff entry from the Valle Vista League.

San Dimas (8-3), a defensive powerhouse that has given up fewer points than any team in Division IX, controlled the Argonauts right from the start, scoring on the game’s second play from scrimmage when linebacker Jeff Runnells intercepted a Matt Crippen screen pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown.

The Saints never surrendered the lead, thanks to two more big plays--Eric Ingram’s 58-yard second-quarter touchdown on a screen pass from Ryan Repp, and Curtis Brown’s 37-yard run that set up Scott Ehret’s 23-yard field goal for a 17-7 lead in the third quarter.

San Dimas’ defense did the rest, holding the Argonauts to 151 yards, 53 rushing in 38 carries.