LAGUNA HILLS It's hard to fathom how two missed PATs and penalties blew what could have been a comeback story to recount for the Laguna Hills football faithful.

But that's exactly how it went down. And Cypress won't complain.

The Hawks' late rally fell short after a holding penalty negated what would have been the go-ahead score, allowing the Centurions to hold on, 30-26, on Friday night in the first round of the CIF-SS Southern Division playoffs at Laguna Hills High.

Laguna Hills running back Reece Ludwig appeared to have saved the Hawks' season when he ran in from 7 yards out with 3:54 remaining to give them the lead.

But a holding penalty brought the ball back to the 15-yard line, and after Hawks quarterback Ryan Werternberger overthrew his receiver in the end zone, he was sacked on fourth-and-10 by Cypress' Chad Wagner.

End of rally.

The Centurions (7-3) held a 23-13 lead with 7:06 left in the third quarter. The Hawks (6-3) stormed back on a 7-yard running score by Tyler Perkins and then A..J. Martin caught a 5-yard pass from Wartenberger to take a brief 26-23 lead. The PAT failed.

After a Cypress punt, the Centurions' Marcus Maldonado intercepted a pass at the Laguna Hills 24.

Mike Vanderipe led a four-play, 24-yard drive and capped it with a 2-yard scoring run with 6:39 remaining to give Cypress the lead for good.

Vanderipe stymied the Hawks defense through the air and on the ground. He completed 7 of 11 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 138 yards on 21 carries, including an 80-yard touchdown run.

The Centurions can credit their defense for holding Laguna Hills when it posed a threat to regain the lead. The holding penalty came at the worse possible time. And earlier in the game the Hawks missed two PATs. Had those been converted Laguna Hills could have kicked a field goal instead of going for it on the 4th-and-10.

"We kept saying they had to make just one mistake and that's when it happened," Cypress coach Ray Fenton said. "We needed to not just get a first down, but also get a touchdown; not just pressure but get a sack, and we were going to need that kind of performance against them."

Contact the writer: mmelendez@ocregister.com