STRAIGHT ARM: Cypress High's Max Reeza straight-arms Jared Smith of Laguna Hills High during a 43-yard touchdown reception. ARMANDO BROWN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER |
Fryer tackles the first round
Your Frankly Fryer pal sometimes has hunches, when he picks winners of high school football games.
And there was a hunch, when examining that Cypress-Laguna Hills game in the CIF-Southern Section's Southern Division. Having seen that Cypress-Pacifica game, a wild one that Cypress lost, 35-34, I knew Cypress could battle. Quarterback Mike Vanderipe, receiver/kicker Ryan Saumur… that's a good team with a good offense.
But that hunch was ignored. Too bad. Cypress pulled a big upset in that Southern Division first-round game, as Cypress beat Laguna Hills, 30-26, Friday.
Cypress went into the playoffs as an at-large team with a 6-3 record. Laguna Hills, the No. 1 team from the Pacific Coast League and the division's No. 2 seed, was 6-2.
So Cypress will play Anaheim in the second round. Anaheim beat Cypress in last season's Southern Division semifinals, 13-0.
The rest of the Southern Division, an all-Orange County division, went to script: Anaheim beat Garden Grove; Irvine beat Estancia; University beat Santa Ana Valley (although University standout running back Tim Smith was out with a sprained ankle); Kennedy beat Santiago; and top-seeded Western beat Los Amigos.
Cypress' victory was one of two big first-round upsets. The other: Newport Harbor 7, Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks 3.
Notre Dame's star quarterback Dayne Crist did not play; he suffered a concussion last week in Notre Dame's loss to Crespi of Encino. Even so, that's a great defensive effort by Harbor, which got all the points it needed on a great touchdown catch byJ.B. Green on a pass from Andrew McDonald.
Cerritos College is the site of the CIF-SS track and field championships, and it looked like a track meet there Friday night when Servite outscored San Clemente, 54-43, in a Pac-5 game. Servite's D.J. Shoemate pulled the Ladainian Tomlinson trick by scoring touchdowns rushing and receiving, and throwing for one, too.
Esperanza is known as one of the more conservative teams in the county, but the Aztecs went to the trick bag against Lakewood. On their final drive of the game, the Aztecs used a hook-and-ladder, a halfback option pass and a reverse to maneuver downfield for the winning touchdown in their 20-17 victory in Pac-5 play.
Tesoro's magical season ended in a 31-17 loss to Mater Dei in a Pac-5 game. Tesoro went 5-0 in the South Coast League this season, one year after going 0-5 in league.
In the Northeast Division, St. Margaret's played like the big favorite it is, with a 58-0 victory over Twin Pines of Banning. There was a mini-upset in the Northeast, in which Sage Hill lost to Linfield Christian of Temecula, 49-24.
La Habra would have been the top-seeded team in the Southeast Division, but some forfeitures by Troy tumbled the order of finish in the Freeway League, making La Habra the league's No. 2 playoff representative. La Habra played like a No. 1 seed in a 55-7 victory over Ocean View. The Highlanders get a shot at top-seeded San Gabriel, which needed overtime to Santa Fe, 14-7.
Fullerton rolled to a 41-20 victory over Arroyo. All that forfeiture business made Fullerton the No. 3 seed, which seemed a bit high for the Indians. The Indians played like they truly deserved to be seeded that way.
El Dorado and Trabuco Hills, the picks here to meet in the Southwest Division championship game, won big. El Dorado defeated Rowland of Rowland Heights, 40-7, and Trabuco Hills beat Brea Olinda, 38-7. A pretty good Orange County team was eliminated Friday in the Southwest: Canyon, which was beaten by West Covina, 28-21.
If you wonder about the difference in divisions, be aware that West Covina lost to Mater Dei, 58-6, during the regular season.
One way to find out you're having a good season: You practice on Thanksgiving morning. A lot of teams got through that first round, and will have to report to school on that holiday. They will be thankful for the opportunity.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
| Lots of stories about Troy boys. Yes, Troy players painted their faces with LH in blue and were welcomed with open arms on sidelines at the LH game. Troy boys were spotted at Fullerton game but sitting on the Arroyo side? Heard also that Troy players were warned not to attend the Fullerton game or be anywhere near it. |
|
| Tribe Pride - Nov 19, 2007 09:35:06 AM | Remove Comment |
| | |
| Anyone hear the rumor that Troy players were on the La Habra sideline Friday night? |
|
| B Dawg - Nov 18, 2007 10:20:11 PM | Remove Comment |
| | |
| OK,SO LETS GET THE CORRECT SEEDING FOR FULLERTON
JUST ASKING A SIMPLE REQUEST |
|
| gutztribe - Nov 17, 2007 11:16:08 PM | Remove Comment |
| | |
| valencia's victory over savanna 52 to 28 saturday night pairs off the empire vs. everyone else. fridays games should be excellent matches in southern division. |
|
| vic - Nov 17, 2007 11:02:06 PM | Remove Comment |
