Argonauts Beaten by Covina’s Big Plays

Big plays were the difference in Garden’s Grove’s first-round Division IX playoff game Thursday at Covina. Covina made them and Garden Grove didn’t, resulting in the Argonauts’ 40-20 loss.

Covina (8-3) which finished second in the Valle Vista League, scored on passes of 55, 54 and 53 yards, and had a 75-yard kickoff return for touchdown. Garden Grove (6-4-1), which finished second in the Garden Grove League and had won its last six games, failed to score four times from within Covina’s 20-yard line.

“Big plays were obviously the difference,” Garden Grove Coach Kris Van Hook said. “We got some pretty good drives down deep in their territory but just couldn’t get it in.”

Covina scored on its first three possessions en route to a 26-0 lead midway through the first half. Covina quarterback David Ulrich completed eight of his first 10 passes, including a 55-yard touchdown to Johnny Grant and a 54-yard touchdown to Scott Jarvis.

After sputtering most of the first half, Garden Grove’s offense kicked into gear on its final drive of the second quarter. Adam Deneal capped the 65-yard drive with a four-yard scoring run.

Whatever momentum that score provided for Garden Grove was nullified on the first play of the second half. Daniel Ulrich returned the kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown to give Covina a 33-6 lead.

The Argonauts scored the final two touchdowns. Running back Ruben Rangel scored on an 11-yard rushing touchdown and Felipe Garcia teamed with quarterback Keo Sutherland for a 17-yard score on the final play of the game.