Garden Grove sails past Beckman

TUSTIN Garden Grove quarterback Sean Young did his usual thing Friday night, so did running back Josh Sepulveda.

But kicker Jesse Lozano might have provided the biggest lift for the Argonauts in the second round of the CIF-SS Southern Division playoffs against Beckman.

Lozano kicked a 48-yard field goal at the end of the first half to propel top-seeded Garden Grove to a 38-21 victory at Tustin High.

Lozano's field goal, with no time left on the clock in the second quarter, gave Garden Grove a 24-21 halftime lead.

The Argonauts came out even stronger in the second half to earn a spot in next week's semifinals.

Garden Grove (12-0) will play at Norwalk on Saturday.

"He's kicked a few field goals for us before," Garden Grove Coach Joe Hay said. "Our other kicker, Ricky Bain (who kicked point afters) had some prior injuries, and we just made a last second decision. Jesse has a heck of a leg, and so we went with Jesse and he pulled through for us and that was a great way to go into the locker-room.

"When we went in there, we talked about it being 0-0 and coming out and playing defense."

Garden Grove did just that, limiting the Patriots leading rusher, Keith Lawson, to minus-4 yards in the second half. Lawson was impressive in the first half, rushing for 110 yards and scoring on touchdown runs of 62 and 35 yards.

"That field goal helped give us the momentum," Young said.

Young led the offensive charge, rushing for 147 yards on 23 carries. He had a 54-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and helped Garden Grove clinch the victory with a 2-yard touchdown run with eight minutes left.

Young also tossed two TD passes and threw for 121 yards

Sepulveda rushed for 106 yards and hauled in a% 5-yard TD pass.

Beckman (7-4-1) put up a battle in the first half, but Garden Grove wore down the Patriots defense in the second half.

"We're young, and we showed it at times," Beckman Coach Fred Shambaugh said. "But this season was a good beginning for Beckman football, regardless of the loss. I'm definitely proud of these kids."

Hay told his players he was proud of their effort as well.

The players continue to remember their fallen teammate, Kevin Telles, a senior linebacker and fullback, who collapsed during the team's opening game of the season against Westminster and later died.

"This is all for him," Young said. "Every game and every play, I think about him."

Now, the team is closing in on a title.

"We're going to take it one game at a time and not overlook anybody," Young said.