Defensive Efforts Set Tone in the Semifinals

The adage is that defense wins championships. Well, it can certainly win semifinals too.

That was the case over the weekend in the Southern Section playoffs. It was easy to find the highlights:

* Los Angeles Loyola turned away Los Alamitos four times from inside the two-yard line in overtime to beat the Division I defending champions, 22-15. The defense for the second-seeded Cubs came through in regulation, when lineman Chris Jauregui scored on a 37-yard interception return.

* The top-seeded team in Division I, Long Beach Poly, committed four turnovers, but its defense got three of its own in an 18-7 victory over Santa Ana Mater Dei.

* Palmdale’s defense didn’t give up a touchdown, and Adrian Jenkins returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown in a 14-6 victory over Santa Fe Springs St. Paul in Division III. The Falcons have given up only 19 points in their last seven games.

* In Division IV, Ventura St. Bonaventure and Westlake Village Westlake gave up a combined 10 points in semifinal victories.

* Corona Centennial had been averaging 42.8 points, but Riverside North’s defense surrendered only two touchdowns in a 45-15 victory in Division V.

* In Division VII, San Gabriel defeated Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe, 17-14, by clamping down on the Chiefs, who had scored 27 points or more in 11 of their first 12 games and had been averaging 35 points.

* In the other Division VII semifinal, Covina South Hills beat Orange, 21-0, by turning back four drives that had reached the Huskies’ 10-yard line. One of those drives ended when Brandon Newton intercepted a pass in the end zone.

* Undefeated and top-seeded Hacienda Heights Los Altos, in danger of losing its lead to Lakewood Mayfair midway through the fourth quarter, got an interception inside its 10-yard line by Chapelle Brown. The Conquerors went on to a 32-20 victory in Division VI.

* Fontana Kaiser’s Brandon Jackson forced one fumble at the Kaiser 11 and recovered a fourth-quarter fumble at the Victorville Silverado 19 that led to Tino Amanico’s game-winning field goal in a 13-10 victory in Division VIII. Jonathan Riley also had an interception that led to a field goal, helping to improve Dick Bruich’s coaching record to 250-65-3.

* In Division IX, Anaheim Western’s defense held Fountain Valley Los Amigos running back Anthony Matagi, who was averaging 197 yards, to 107 yards and one touchdown in a 34-20 victory over the top-seeded Lobos.

* La Habra sealed its 14-6 victory over Freeway League rival Fullerton in the other Division IX semifinal when Richard Salazar recovered a fumble with 50 seconds remaining on second and goal at the Highlander four-yard line.

* Inglewood Morningside scored on a 75-yard fumble return by Maurice Payne, and Brandon McCullen intercepted a pass inside the Morningside 10-yard line with less than a minute left to hold off Santa Maria St. Joseph, 20-17, in Division X.

* In Westlake Village Oaks Christian’s 33-14 victory over Ojai Nordhoff in Division XI, it held the top-seeded Rangers to 21 points fewer than they scored the first time they met this season, a 35-28 victory by Nordhoff.

* Both Division XIII teams won by recording shutouts. Third-seeded La Canada Flintridge Prep beat second-seeded Pasadena Marshall, 26-0, and top-seeded Pasadena Poly defeated fourth-seeded Simi Valley Grace Brethren, 45-0.

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Defense also played a big role in a City Section Championship division semifinal Friday night.

Third-seeded Carson had two interceptions late in the fourth quarter in its 19-18 upset of previously undefeated Los Angeles Dorsey (12-1).

Jamar Dawson’s 38-yard interception return to the four-yard line set up quarterback Bo Napoleon’s two-yard run to give the Colts their final margin with 4 minutes 1 second left, and Elisha Mueller intercepted a pass in Colt territory with 57 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Dwayne Sanders blocked a punt at the eight-yard line, setting up a touchdown that gave Carson (10-3) a 13-12 lead in the third quarter.

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At least two teams’ chances of winning semifinal games were hampered by injuries.

Dorsey running back Jeremiah Johnson, who injured an ankle in the third week of the season, aggravated that injury against Carson and finished with only 13 yards in four carries in the second-seeded Dons’ 19-18 loss Friday night.

With Jeremiah Johnson out, it allowed Carson to focus on Stafon Johnson, who was held to 72 yards in 24 carries.

“It limited what we could do offensively,” Coach Paul Knox said. “They were able to key on Stafon.”

In the Southern Section, the top-seeded team in Division III, Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, didn’t have a healthy Tyler Pringle, who had rushed for 1,858 yards through 12 games.

Pringle suffered a thigh bruise in the first quarter and finished with only 23 yards in six carries, and the previously undefeated Mustangs lost to fourth-seeded Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 21-13.

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By the fourth quarter of their 62-21 City Championship semifinal victory over Sylmar, Venice players cast their attention toward the announcer’s booth, where updates of the Carson-Dorsey semifinal were given periodically.

Venice admittedly wanted to face Dorsey in Friday night’s championship game at the Coliseum, matching up what would have been the only two undefeated teams in the section.

Instead, the Gondoliers will get a rematch with Carson, a team they beat, 34-14, in the first week of the regular season.

Their disappointment didn’t stop the top-seeded Gondoliers (13-0) from celebrating their first trip to the title game.

“This means everything,” senior defensive tackle Keioshe Jones said.

“The past two years, we’ve gotten to the [Invitational and Championship] semifinals. It feels so good to finally get [to the final]”

Naturally, part of the focus on championship week will be on senior quarterback Beau Davis, who left Carson during last season’s playoffs and transferred to Venice.

“It’s my former team,” Davis said. “It’s nice to play them again. They’ve been playing good since the start of the season. We’ll see what happens.”

Eric Stephens and Steve Galluzzo contributed to this report.