La Habra defense helps eke out title
SANTA ANA After notching lopsided victories for the past two months, the La Habra football team found itself in a defensive battle against Fullerton in the CIF-SS Southeast Division championship played Friday at Santa Ana Stadium.
The Highlanders mustered just enough offense to earn a 16-6 victory.
La Habra coach Frank Mazzotta gave most of the credit to his defense for the Highlanders' victory and third division title.
"We shut down their running game and made them earn every inch," Mazzotta said.
Fullerton needed a strong showing from running back Michael Allain, who has keyed the Indians success for much of the season.
Allain, who was averaging 262 yards per game in the playoffs heading into the final, was held to 63 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries.
"They are a strong team," Allain said. "I have to give it to them. They are a good team."
Even when La Habra made mistakes, its defense did a good job of damage control.
An interception by Chris Morales– his first of three – on La Habra's first possession of the game, gave Fullerton possession on its 24. The Indians managed only 7 yards, however, before punting.
On the Highlanders' next possession, Morales' second interception gave the Indians the ball on their 25.
Once again, Fullerton couldn't capitalize on the opportunity.
"When we made a mistake on offense, our defense was there to pick up the pieces," Mazzotta said.
Fullerton's defense was equally impressive, holding a Highlander team that was averaging more than 50 points in the playoffs to its lowest point total of the season.
Aside from a 34-yard scoring drive on its first drive of the third quarter, La Habra had a difficult time moving the ball in the second half. The Highlanders were forced to punt four times and got into Fullerton territory only twice.
Contact the writer: lponsi@ocregister.com
| 13and 0 how sweet it is fullerton couldnt even hold LA HABRAS JOCKSTRAP |
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| dee sealy - Dec 24, 2007 08:26:41 PM | Remove Comment |
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| hey fullerton cry to cif maybe they will over turn our victory and grant you a coin flip NOT |
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| dee sealy - Dec 13, 2007 04:08:39 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Click the Remove Comment button to delete knucklehead comments. |
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| Management - Dec 11, 2007 05:19:08 PM | Remove Comment |
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| congradulations la habra. were coming next year |
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| fuhs - Dec 10, 2007 09:37:18 AM | Remove Comment |
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| Everyone, stop with the name calling and who has or does not have class. If you want to do something good and get this community together again, think about writing a letter or circulating a petition to CIF about reinstating the Troy ineligible player. On Friday he lost his appeal with CIF and now his next and final appeal is with State CIF. He is suspended from playing football next year. That stinks considering he did nothing wrong! |
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| HelpthisKid - Dec 09, 2007 06:03:16 PM | Remove Comment |
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| I am happy to see Footballfan had a laugh. He doubts the science reported by a Stanford mathematics professor, based on research, not subjective opinion. I'd bet there are football fans who think the earth is flat, the sun revolves around the earth, and that London is closer than the moon. Heck, you cannot even see London from here. What the Fullerton coach did has been reported by several sources. The reason to ask for an investigation into PROBABLE misconduct is because there might not be any misconduct, that is what the investigation is to report. It might be acceptable to the Board of Education the way in which the coach made his report to CIF. Coach Smilowitz might have been unaware of the severe reaction of the CIF to the situation, which would mitigate some of his responsibility for the situation. But to quote the Bard writing in Hamlet, Something is Rotten in the state of Denmark! |
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| Highlander Dad - Dec 09, 2007 03:13:04 AM | Remove Comment |
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| 13 and 0. What an awesome season for La Habra. Congradulations Clan. Hopefully you can repeat next year. Merry Christmas. |
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| Highlander Fan - Dec 08, 2007 03:23:55 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Smilowitz is both the head coach AND the Athletic Director of Fullerton High School. I dont think ignorance can be claimed. He did use knowledge to his advantage after losing. NO character. A very nice Thanks Troy banner displayed by Fullerton Fans. funny. Thanks for? Im not sure. A great defensive battle. The better team won. No player on La Habra`s team transferred from a nother district school. it is true that a running back moved from Paramount to La Habra with his father, so he might enjoy living in a safer neighborhood, I doubt if anyone of us in the same situation as they were, and having the opportunity to move, would not have done the same thing. La Habra will be back in contention next year, they always are, and Fullerton will as well. Hopefully this season has shown us all a little bit about integrity and character when it counts. and Fwy League Nmbr 1, has obviously never played the game, just thinks he`s the next great sports commentator. He isnt. |
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| Get The Facts - Dec 08, 2007 03:20:43 PM | Remove Comment |
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| fullerton no coin flip no win HA HA |
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| dee sealy - Dec 08, 2007 12:33:26 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Highlander Dad, you make comments as though you know exactly what happened. "Coach Smilowitz withheld information from authorities until he could use it to retaliate against Troy for beating his team", yet go on to say "The Board of Education should quickly resolve to investigate this PROBABLE misconduct and have administrative staff report publicly all findings." You know nothing, yet continually bad mouth someone. It just makes to laugh to hear your theory, especially this one! "A coin has a 51 percent chance to land on the same side it started on. Smilowitz used this to his advantage to leap frog La Habra, garnering the top seed." And then you guys buddy up with the team that caused the coin flip, in the first place? Give me a break! |
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| Footballfan - Dec 08, 2007 12:10:06 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Now that La Habra has taken the quiver and all the arrows form the Fullerton Indians, it can be said that their loss in the final game was due to their coach painting a target on them by his despicable conduct. Coach Smilowitz withheld information from authorities until he could use it to retaliate against Troy for beating his team. This also caused CIF to award him a tie in league play. It is imbedded in our culture that coin flips are random. Science has shown they are not. A coin has a 51 percent chance to land on the same side it started on. Smilowitz used this to his advantage to leap frog La Habra, garnering the top seed. Playing the easy half of the bracket in the finals allowed them to reach the finals. The Fullerton boys are a good team, they play hard, and certainly deserved a second or third rung on the playoff ladder. The machinations of Coach Smilowitz are offensive to the traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice. The Board of Education should quickly resolve to investigate this probable misconduct and have administrative staff report publicly all findings. La Habra was always going to win, and the Fullerton team deserves credit for trying their best, and being good sportsmen to the very end of the game. |
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| Highlander Dad - Dec 08, 2007 11:50:23 AM | Remove Comment |
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| Congratulations La Harbra you earned it. I am a parent of a fullerton high player and was embrassed by some of our players after the came by flipping La Harbra fans off But La Harbra fans and the Troy players were not much better. The Troy players coming on the field taunting FUHS. And fans for LHUS were classless too. However Morales was full of class giving FUHS credit on being a good team. Can not wait till next year should be fun
Take lesson Troy and Fullewrotn |
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| fullerton dad - Dec 08, 2007 11:21:41 AM | Remove Comment |
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| I don't know where you get your information from Freeway League Nmbr 1 but NO ONE has transferred to La Habra from other district schools. So before you go flapping your gums why don't you get your facts straight first. At least one of our team members didn't turn to the crowd and flip them off. |
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| Highlander Fan - Dec 08, 2007 09:27:28 AM | Remove Comment |
