SGV/Whittier Prep Sports Zone: End Zone to End Zone: CIFSS Quarterfinal Edition
We go inside La Serna's win over Troy in a D5 first round game; 5 Things I Think I Think; Semifinal schedule; Stat Leaders and more.
Emre Law attempts to catch a pass against Troy in a CIFSS Div. 5 first-round game on Friday night. (Photo: Arnold Leos Graphics)
WHITTIER – It’s that time of year again at La Serna High School.
It’s playoff time – which should be named “Winning Time” at the Whittier-based campus.
The last time the Lancers lost a playoff football game was in 2022, in a gut-wrenching 14-12 loss to Palos Verdes. I was there that night and couldn’t help but feel empathy for coach Andy George and his team. It was a game suited for the quarterfinals. However, (thanks to competitive equity) it got slotted as a first-round game.
That came on the heels of a 2021 game in which the Lancers advanced to the semifinals but ran into the juggernaut that was St. Francis HS, which played that season for coach Jim Bonds, who lost his battle with cancer in 2020.
It’s been quite a run for anyone associated with La Serna Football. Just look at the results for the past four full seasons.
2023: CIF State and Southern Section Champions
2021: CIFSS Semifinalists
2019: CIFSS Finalists
2018: CIFSS Quarterfinalists
The Lancers are coached by Andy George, one of the smoothest coaches you’ll find in Southern California. This is a guy that you don’t want to play poker against. As the late Stewart Scott would say, “He’s cool as the other side of the pillow.” Nothing phases this man.
He’ll smile, make you comfortable, and then throw down a pair of aces, take your money, and stroll into the night, acting like nothing significant happened. Make no mistake: there is a competitive side to this coach that has earned the respect of everyone in his profession.
He leads by example. He wants things done “The La Serna Way.”
You’ve heard the program's three pillars: Courage, Character, and Commitment. We talked about them last year before the state championship football game. While the program's philosophy hasn’t changed, team composition is a different story.
The 2024 version of La Serna football is different from last year’s version, which culminated in the ultimate prize of winning the state title. Not many players from last year’s team returned in 2024—it’s called graduation.
Make no mistake; plenty of players on that team were on the sidelines at California High School Friday night for La Serna’s CIFSS Division 5 first-round game against Troy. The problem was that many of them were wearing their letterman jackets. They were the seniors who graduated in June.
In George’s mindset, it was time to develop a new crop of players and for the coaches to help teach the mindset that is La Serna football. Years like this have had many challenging moments. It’s like being on an airplane going through Colorado or Utah with high winds; it’s called turbulence.
There was the season-opening loss to Damien (42-21), another loss to OC power Crean Lutheran (20-0), and a loss to D3 finals contender Edison (32-21). However, there were also bright spots along the journey. Wins over Warren (14-7) and Tesoro (31-28) gave everyone clues that things would be fine.
One final decision had to be made – the quarterback position. Sophomore Grady Long and senior Richie Gonzalez were sharing reps at the position. With the start of the Del Rio League season, George decided it was time to name a starter.
He went with Grady Long.
He decided to go with the player he would be working with for two more years at the position. It’s not like the kid was foreign to the program. He is the FOURTH (and final) member of the family to be with the program. The other three have been sensational. Two are playing in college, and the other one is the coach of the school’s Girls Flag Football program.
Grady has seen it all and has the best seat of anyone in the program as the ball boy.
When in doubt, go with a family that knows everything about the program and George.
For this story, Grady, we’ll call him “Boy Wonder,” took advantage of this opportunity. He completed 28 of 47 passes for 822 yards and 12 touchdowns in league play. Most importantly, he led his team to another Del Rio League title (which is about as common as the Dodgers winning the NL West).
Watching this team makes you feel it is not about the offense. The numbers are good, but the team's strength resides on the defensive side. That was fully displayed on Friday in the Lancers' 28-7 win over the Warriors.
It’s a defense led by seniors Kaimana Tufaga and Elijah Blu Flores. Both were the best players on the field. And they needed to be that way because the Lancers looked slightly out of rhythm in the first half of Friday night’s game.
The Warriors did an excellent job limiting the Lancers' run game to 29 yards in the first half. There are games where a 29-yard run is the norm rather than the exception. Through it all, “Boy Wonder” remained calm and at ease at the QB spot. He completed 9 of 13 passes for 116 yards.
The game was tied at 7.
Kaimana Tufaga scores in the second half of La Serna’s 28-7 win over Troy. (Photo: Arnold Leos Photography).
As for the halftime speech, “Boy Wonder” let the cat out of the bag. “He told us that this was not going to be our last half of football this year,” Long said.
In the end, George was right.
The second half began, and George’s players began to look like the La Serna team that makes deep playoff runs. The hits were more consistent, and the energy was higher. The runs that had not popped in the first half suddenly started to pop.
Simply put, the Lancers started playing La Serna football. The Lancers took the lead midway through the third period when Long threw a beautiful 42-yard pass for a touchdown to junior Zeb Bontemps for a 14-7 lead. “We saw that the safety was cheating and knew we could take a shot,” Long said.
It turns out that “Boy Wonder” can read coverages.
The Lancers put this game away late in the third quarter when sophomore Jacob Quinones scored on an eight-yard run. Tufaga’s 20-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter only made the score look better on the scoreboard with a 28-7 win.
The Lancer defense held Troy (who runs a similar offense as La Serna does) to 98 yards in the second half. They also allowed only five third-down conversions out of 12 attempts in the game.
As the axiom goes, “Offense wins game, defense wins championships.”
“Our defense plays lights out every week,” George said after the game. “We take pride in our defense, as you know, and our motto is ‘Fly 11 to the football.’ When we get 11 hats to the football, we are dangerous.”
So is Long, who finished the game completing 13 of 20 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns. That's not bad for someone who is also a prolific baseball pitcher.
“Grady is getting more comfortable with each game,” George said. “We are trying to get him experience under his belt. We had to settle him at halftime.”
As for this version of Lancer football, let’s just say it hasn’t been easy to get to this point in the season.
“Every team is different, but this one has given me a few extra grey hairs,” George said. “I love seeing them succeed. They work so hard, and they play hard. I’m so happy to be the coach of this team.”
Here we are again. La Serna is back in their usual spot in the quarterfinals and will return to Cal High on Friday to take on Rio Mesa, the second-place team in the 805-based Conejo Coast League. They are the fifth seed in the tournament and figure to give La Serna all they could handle.
However, with “Boy Wonder” at quarterback, a defense as stingy as ever, and a coach who can lead a team through any type of turbulence, don’t be surprised to see La Serna again in the semifinals.
And they’ll do it with as little fanfare as possible.
It’s called the La Serna Way.
5 Things That I Think I Think
1) I think the night's most significant win belongs to Bonita. It is not easy to win at Cathedral, and the Bearcats did it (35-20), which was impressive. Joseph Lara had 160 total offensive yards, and Cole Parra added another 90 rushing yards. The win might have come at a high cost as elite linebacker Noah Mikhail might have broken his foot, which would end his season. That’s not good with #3-seeded Edison coming into town on Friday night.
2) I think if San Dimas and Glendora each win their games on Friday night, there Div. 6 semifinal game could be the biggest in the foothills in quite some time. The game would take place at Citrus College. Both teams are doing it with bruising running attacks. The Saints rushed for 464 yards in their 43-21 win over Aliso Niguel, with Julian Vigil rushing for 155 yards and Nathaniel Almaraz adding 155 yards. Glendora’s Simon Zwick had 29 carries for 219 yards and two touchdowns in their 30-7 win over Agoura,
3) I think it was a mixed bag for the teams in the area. Damien (D2), Chino Hills (D3), Charter Oak (D4), Northview (D4), and St. Paul (D4) suffering losses in upper divisions, with La Habra (D3), Bonita (D3), and La Serna (D5) picking up wins. It was in the lower divisions that the area hit gold. Baldwin Park (D11), El Rancho (D11), Wilson (D12), El Monte (D13), San Marino (D13), Pasadena (D13), San Gabriel (D14), and Pioneer (D14) secured first-round wins.
4) I think these are my in-the-area thoughts on the first round of the playoffs.
a) You rarely see a team rush for 220 yards as a team and lose in the playoffs. That was the case with Patriot High as they suffered a 35-28 loss to host South Pasadena. I had put the Tigers on upset watch, and they narrowly escaped with the win. The Tigers might have their hands full with Valley View this Friday night on the road.
b) All the fun on the west side is not centralized at St. Francis on Friday night. Pasadena will host San Marino in a game featuring two teams that fell beneath the radar of most football fans in the area. Pasadena won the coin flip to secure the final AQ from the league into the playoffs, and San Marino won the requisite five games to make the playoffs. Don’t be surprised if you see an El Monte vs. Pasadena or San Marino game next week, assuring fans of one area team in the finals.
c) Returning to Div. 6, the game of the year is the rematch of Muir vs. St. Francis this week in La Canada. If you are looking for one matchup to follow, it is the St. Francis offense against the Muir defense. Muir held the Golden Knights to 19 rushing yards in a 28-18 win earlier in the year. If the Golden Knights can get 200 yards rushing and 200+ passing yards from John Sanders (24-45, 271 yards, 2TDs in first game vs. Muir), you have to like St. Francis’ chances to win. The Golden Knights also have one of the better home-field advantages in the area, and it's worth a touchdown. I will NOT be missing this game on Friday.
d) What is the ceiling for Rio Hondo Prep? I have no idea, but that was a visually impressive 35-0 win on the road over a Ramona team that won the D11 title last year. The Kares are back on the road against ML King this week, but if they win, they’ll have a home game at Kare Field, where they are tough to beat. The most interesting stat from the game is that Ramona had more players on their sideline (72) than RHP has boys in their student population (70). If the Kares win and play West Torrance, they will be the heavy underdogs.
e) We saw the Sonora game on the NFHS Network against Alemany and are continually impressed with Anthony Abad. The senior rushed for 311 yards and four touchdowns in their 41-25 win over the Alemany. The win exposed Alemany’s problem of stopping the run in the back half of their season. It also signaled the end of Casey Claussen era at Alemany as he submitted his resignation on Friday. The assignment for the Raiders gets more challenging this Friday as they travel to take on a Quartz Hill team that has given up two touchdowns in the last 24 quarters.
f) Damien's loss to San Clemente shouldn’t be all that surprising. You can make the case that the Alpha League is California's best public school league. It was a rough night for Baseline League teams, who went 0-4. The next thing that needs to happen at Damien is making James Stewart the full-time football coach… unless Bill Belichick takes the job… lol.
5. I think these are my out-of-area thoughts on the first round of the playoffs.
a) That’s a big win for Sierra Canyon, defeating Servite 38-14. Considering that they were 0-3 against Trinity League teams this year entering the game, it goes a long way from a psychological point of view moving forward. They will be considerable underdogs against Mater Dei on Friday night.
b) Tony Moskal and I mentioned on last week’s “Under Center” podcast that Simi Valley should not take Sherman Oaks Notre Dame for granted in their Division 3 first-round game. It was the night's best game as SV survived, 49-47. That game was part of a four-pack of games won by one possession in Division 3. The other games were La Habra 27, Mira Costa 24, Crean Lutheran 20, Millikan 17, and Vista Murrieta 23, Villa Park 20.
c) In Division 4, three games were decided by one possession; in Division 5, four games were decided by one possession, which is good news for section officials. The bad news is that in many lower divisions, only one or two games were decided by one possession. I feel like more games were decided by one possession last year.
d) 34% of the 13-16 seed category teams won games in the first round. That number increases to 55% when you filter out the 16th-seeded teams. The message is clear to basketball, baseball, and other team sports entering the current playoff system for playoff divisional placement for the first time: don’t dismiss double-digit seeded teams.
e) At-large teams also performed very well, with a first-round record of 20-16. Last year, At-Large teams went 18-16 in the first round, so the selection process works well.
f) At least one top-seeded team loses in the first round every year. Last year, it was San Gabriel in D13; this year, it was Don Lugo in D11, as they fell to Portola 31-20.
g) The bottom half of the D3 bracket is filled with double-digit seeds in quarterfinal games. They include #12 Crean Lutheran at #13 Loyola and #15 Vista Murrieta at #10 Cajon. The madness continues in D4, where #10 Thousand Oaks, #12 Culver City, and #13 Apple Valley all advanced to the quarters.
SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS
Division 3
La Habra at Crean Lutheran
Loyola at La Habra
Cajon at Bonita
Bonita at Vista Murrieta
Division 5
La Serna at Huntington Beach/Summit
Division 6
Northwood/Murrieta Mesa at Muir
St. Francis at Northwood
Murrieta Mesa at St. Francis
San Dimas/Dana Hills vs. Glendora at Citrus College
San Dimas at Rancho Verde
Division 7
West Torrance/Oak Park vs. Rio Hondo Prep at Kare Park
Division 9
Sonora at Highland/Burbank
Division 10
South Pasadena at Chino/Silverado
Division 11
Baldwin Park at Portola/Santa Paula
San Gorgonio vs. El Rancho at California High
El Rancho at Grand Terrance
Division 12
Canyon Springs/Carter at HH-Wilson
Division 13
Lynwood at Pasadena
San Marino at Lynwood
Pasadena/San Marino at El Monte
Division 14
San Gabriel at Nordhoff
Duarte at San Gabriel/Costa Mesa
Pioneer at Century/Ganesha
AREA FOOTBALL STATS
Passing
1. Corin Berry (Charter Oak), 177-277, 2,735 yards, 32 TDs, 7 INTs
2. Isaiah Arriaza (Damien) 166-285, 2,640, 27 TDs, 8 INTs
3. Avenn Ortiz (Duarte) 137-203, 2,321, 17 TDs, 5 INTs
4. Jesse Saucedo (Monrovia) 96-168, 2,105; 20 TDs, 5 INTs
5. Alex Medyn (Chino Hills) 149-244, 2,073; 16 TDs, 3 INTs
Receiving
1. Marquis Bradley (Charter Oak), 52 rec, 915 yards, 13 TDs
2. Vince Paez (Monrovia) 36 rec, 912 yards, 10 TDs
3. Travon Garrison (Damien) 43 rec, 908 yards, 12 TDs
4. Tony Aguilar (South El Monte) 40 rec, 868 yards, 10 TDs
5. Andrew Guerrero (El Rancho) 59 rec, 859 yards, 7 TDs
Rushing
1. Anthony Abad (Sonora), 242 carries, 1,920 yards, 25 TDs
2. Dominic Ezeonye (Wilson) 142 carries, 1,576 yards, 24 TDs
3. Keanu Tauvao (Northview) 84 carries, 1,448 Yards, 20 TDs
4. Devin Clark (Santa Fe) 181 carries, 1,400 yards, 22 TDs
5. Julian Vigil (San Dimas) 92 carries, 1,302 yards, 18 TDs
FINALLY
Could this be the year that the number of football coaches in the area who resign is in the single digits?
We have one availability at Mountain View when Paul Rodriguez was dismissed halfway through the season. I hope there aren’t as many after that. The one spot that could be open is at Bishop Amat.
I have no credible information that the administration wants to make a change. However, the noise from outside the football halls was incredibly loud. We are not used to seeing the Lancers turn in a 2-win season and not make the playoffs, so it’s been a little strange not to see them in the playoff mix.
Some things need to be addressed in a season like the one the Lancers experienced in 2024. The most glaring is the special teams units. There were too many games where kickoffs were returned for touchdowns, and there were problems with the snap to the holders for extra point/Field Goal attempts. It has been said that the hidden points can be obtained in the special teams portions of games. There are several games that you can point to the performance of the special teams units that contributed to losses.
The injury bug also bit the Lancers with many top players, including starting quarterback Frankie Villalbazo, who was injured and missed several games.
With all that being said, coach Steve Hagerty has more than earned the right to hit the ejection button. He has attempted to return a blue-collar mentality to the program, which will take some time. Two of his best moves were hiring Sean Koelle as the offensive coordinator and Mike DiFiori as the defensive coordinator. From a schematics point of view, things are fine.
In an era where many want the “In-N-Out” philosophy to win a league or sectional title (win a championship the fastest way possible), the proper way is to allow a coach to develop his culture.
If we learned anything from the Vista Murrieta game (which the Lancers won), it is that the talent is there. The coaches are responsible for getting the most out of the kids. The signs are there. The offensive line began to gel as the season moved along. The defensive unit showed incredible toughness in the second half of the Loyola game. And you can be sure that the players returning will spend an intense offseason in the weight room.
There is no need to panic at Amat. They have the players, the coaches, and the culture.
They need a little help from the football gods in 2025.
See you at St. Francis on Friday night.