Quezada, defense key La Habra win over El Dorado

PLACENTIA - La Habra’s Josh Quezada rushed for 224 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries and the Highlanders got a staunch showing by their defense in turning back El Dorado, 27-7, in a CIF-SS Southwest Division playoff game Friday night at Bradford Stadium.

“We were just pounding the ball tonight,” Quezada said.

La Habra (11-1), the division’s top seed, will play host to No. 4 Cypress in a emifinal game next week.

The Highlanders are playing in a division semifinal for the eighth year in a row and for the ninth time in the past 10 years.

It was also the second consecutive year La Habra has knocked the Golden Hawks (7-4-1) out of the playoffs in the quarterfinals.

The Highlanders had only four first-half possessions, but scored on all of them, including their first drive, which started on their 1-yard line.

Quezada had rushes of 18 and 17 yards and a-15 yard touchdown run on the drive, which took only seven plays.

“I was pleased with that drive,” La Habra coach Frank Mazzotta said.

Brett Bartolone had a 26-yard run on the drive and finished with 54 yards rushing on five carries and six receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown.

“He is fast,” Mazzotta said of Bartolone. “He is a football savvy kid.”

La Habra’s second score came on a 33-yard shuffle pass from Cody Clements to Bartolone, in which the sophomore weaved through traffic and broke tackles near the goal line.

After El Dorado missed a 43-yard field goal attempt, La Habra took over on its 20 with 1:29 left in the half.

A 46-yard pass from Clements to Chris Gonzalez helped the Highlanders get close enough for Sean Wale to hit a 23-yard field goal, giving the Highlanders a 17-0 halftime lead.

Wale added a 38-yard field goal in the third quarter and Quezada’s second touchdown, this one for 12 yards, made the score 27-0.

The Golden Hawks scored on an 8-yard pass from Andreas Ambuehl to J.D. Blackmore with seven seconds left in the game.