LA HABRA – The chase for No. 7 is still alive for the La Habra football team thanks in large part to another standout night from No. 3.
With the game tied to start the second half, the stage was set for La Habra quarterback Eric Barriere to take over, and that’s what he did.
With fans waving “Chasing No. 7” towels, in reference to the quest for a seventh CIF title, the senior quarterback rushed for 45-yard touchdown on the first drive of the second half. Later in the quarter, he added a pair of touchdown passes to lift La Habra to a 42-21 home victory over Villa Park in a CIF-SS Southwest Division semifinal.
La Habra (12-1) has won six CIF titles under Coach Frank Mazzotta.
The Highlanders will face San Clemente in the finals, Friday. La Habra is the home team, a location will be finalized next week. Potential locations include Cerritos College and CS Fullerton.
“We knew that if we had the opportunity, we would get it done,” Mazzotta said. “He (Barriere) was smart when he was a sophomore he’s even smarter now that he’s a senior. He’s something else.
“When this thing is all done, I’m going to be a sad guy because he’s just a fun kid to be around. He’s incredible.”
Barriere isn’t so much fun for the opposition, however. He broke free on the third play of the third quarter and raced down the sideline for a touchdown that proved to be winning score.
On La Habra’s next possession, he hooked up with Amon Fellows for a 23-yard touchdown pass, and he ended the quarter with a 33-yard touchdown toss to Logan Gomez.
“We knew we were starting off the (second) half with the ball, so we wanted to score and keep on scoring,” Barriere said. “Our defense helped us out too.”
The La Habra defense came up with a pair of interceptions in the second half. Cameron Rivas intercepted Nick Sipe’s pass on Villa Park’s second play of the half, and Madison Wheeler came up with one later in the quarter.
The teams alternated touchdowns in the first quarter. Villa Park (12-1) scored the final one with 1:43 left on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Sipe to Jake Ruiz to tie the game at 14-14.
After a La Habra turnover, Villa Park took its first lead on a 2-yard touchdown run by John Stamos.
That was short-lived as La Habra marched down the field and and scored on CJ Taylor’s 1-yard run which tied the game at 21-21 heading into halftime. That set the stage for Barriere’s third-quarter heroics that booked La Habra’s first trip to the final since 2010.
“Going to the CIF finals is always special,” Mazzotta said.
“What does it take to get back? You have to play every play and practice your butt off and be ready.”
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
