Defense Leads North to Finals

Riverside North has relied on its big-play offense for much of the season, but Friday night it was its defense that came to the rescue against Murrieta Valley.

The Huskies forced two turnovers in the final two minutes and came away with a 23-15 victory in a Southern Section Division V semifinal at Murrieta Valley High.

Devin McWilliams recovered a fumble with 54 seconds left to secure the third-seeded Huskies’ second consecutive trip to the finals.

Murrieta Valley (11-1-1) had time to get even with the Huskies but Darren Sims intercepted a pass with 2:09 remaining. After Dion Morton lost a fumble 31 seconds later, the Nighthawks couldn’t capitalize, fumbling the ball back.

North will play the winner of tonight’s semifinal between Corona Centennial and Moreno Valley Canyon Springs for the division title on Friday.

-- Dan Arritt

Westlake Village Westlake 24, Oxnard 21 -- A 38-yard field goal with two minutes left gave the Warriors (11-2) the Division IV victory at Oxnard High.

The main threat on offense for Oxnard (11-2) was Aaron Brown, who rushed for 150 yards and two scores but was limited to 26 yards in the second half. He scored on runs of 28 and 14 yards. Yellowjacket quarterback Tim Eglin scored on a 41-yard run but was able to connect on only three of nine passes for 43 yards.

Westlake quarterback Erik Vose completed 12 of 22 passes for 162 yards and two scores, 19 yards to Rob Daniel and 22 yards to Michael Stewart.

The Warriors will play the winner of tonight’s Ventura St. Bonaventure-Moorpark game for the division title on Friday.

-- Tony Solorzano

Walnut 19, Bell Gardens 17 -- Daniel Al-Gattas engineered a seven-play, 64-yard drive with 1:57 left to rally the second-seeded Mustangs to victory in a Division VII game at Walnut.

Al-Gattas completed four of five passes on the game-winning drive, including a 32-yard touchdown pass to Morris Covington with 31 seconds left. Al-Gattas intercepted Javier Delgadillo’s pass on his own 48 with 22 seconds left.

Covington, who scored on Walnut’s first play from scrimmage on an 80-yard run, finished with 89 yards in six carries and 55 yards in five receptions. Bobby Andrade had 157 yards and one touchdown in 28 carries for Bell Gardens (9-4).

Walnut (12-1) will play the winner of tonight’s Covina South Hills-Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe game for the division title on Dec. 14.

-- Rafer Weigel

Garden Grove Pacifica 20, Pomona 14 -- An interception by Pacifica’s David Heller of a halfback pass by Pomona’s Jeremi Carter with 1:04 left ended a frantic comeback by the Red Devils, who scored two touchdowns in less than three minutes in the fourth quarter.

Pacifica will play the winner of tonight’s semifinal between La Habra and Fountain Valley Los Amigos for the division title on Friday.

-- Patrick Laverty

Cerritos Valley Christian 38, Westlake Village Oaks Christian 24 -- Valley Christian scored 14 points in a 40-second span late in the fourth quarter to complete a come-from-behind victory in a Division XI game at Valley Christian.

The Crusaders (12-1) advance to their fifth section title game in 20 years and their first since they won the championship in 1995. They will play the winner of tonight’s semifinal between Lancaster Paraclete and Carpinteria on Dec. 14.

Taylor Cameron connected with Brad Boekestein on a 51-yard touchdown pass that broke a 24-24 tie with 3:26 left to play. Two plays later, David Patterson intercepted a Joey Halzie pass and returned it 38 yards to the Oaks Christian four. Chase Twedell plunged in on the next play to give the Crusaders a 38-24 lead.

Twedell had 238 yards and two touchdowns in 31 carries. Aaron Ware had 207 yards and a touchdown in 22 carries for Oaks Christian (11-2).

-- Peter Yoon

Edwards AFB Desert 25, Mojave 22 -- Nick Gava scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak with 1:06 left to complete a nine-play, 84-yard drive and Aaron Breismaster intercepted a pass by Mojave’s Ronald Downing at midfield with 10 seconds left to preserve the Division XII victory for the second-seeded Scorpions (13-0) at Edwards Air Force Base.

Desert trailed, 12-0, in the second quarter but converted three turnovers into touchdowns to take a 19-12 lead at halftime. Rudy Burgess rushed for 160 yards in seven carries and caught touchdown passes of 32 and eight yards.

Downing had three passes intercepted but rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns in 26 carries, kicked an extra point and kicked a 30-yard field goal for Mojave (9-3).

Desert will play the winner of tonight’s Bishop-Ontario Christian game for the division title on Dec. 14.

-- Steve Galluzzo

Simi Valley Grace Brethren 42, San Juan Capistrano Saddleback Valley Christian 12 -- Lance Campbell rushed for 119 yards and three touchdowns in a Division XIII game at Oaks Christian.

Grace Brethren (10-3) will play Pasadena Poly, a 36-20 winner on Friday over Temecula Linfield Christian, for the division title on Dec. 14. Saddleback Valley Christian finished 10-2.

-- Mayar Zokaei