MidValleySports.Com

By Tony Solorzano

(Bellflower) – Four touchdowns from O.J. Medina powered La Serna to a

47-34 upset over Mayfair to open the first round of the CIF southern

Section Southeast Division playoffs Friday night at Ron Yary Stadium.

 

It was a tale of two halves as the 21-17 halftime lead by the Monsoons

(7-4) evaporated as the Lancers (8-2) outscored them 30-13 thanks to

another stellar performance from quarterback Frankie Palmer.

 

The fireworks erupted late in the first half as the Monsoons erased an

early 3-0 Lancer lead with two touchdowns in the last minute of the

quarter. Monsoon junior quarterback Christian Woo first punched in a

one-yard score with 52 seconds left in the quarter, then after

recovering a Lancer fumble on the 25 yard line, Woo hit Keenan Wright

for a 24-yard score with nine seconds left.

 

The early part of the second quarter saw the same thing as both

schools exchanged touchdowns within 32 seconds of each other. La Serna

closed the lead to 14-10 on Palmer’s 20-yard toss to Medina with 8:42,

but the Monsoons answered back on their next possession, capitalizing

on a 55-yard run from Wright to the Lancer one-yard line, where Aaron

Brown completed the bang-bang score from a yard out with 8:10 left in

the half.

 

The Lancers ended the half on a controversial score. With time running

out, Palmer capped a mammoth 23-play 91-yard drive that extinguished

the final 3:35 left in the half on a two-yard pass to Justin

Ballesteros as time expired, closing the lead to 21-17. However,

Monsoon head coach Mike Fitch tried to convince the ref that time had

expired before Palmer got the play off. His attempt failed as the play

was ruled valid as time expired, sending the teams into the locker

rooms at the half.

 

In the third, La Serna exploded as they clawed back into the lead.

Halfway through the third, John McFarland caught a pass from Palmer

for a 15-yard score, giving the Lancers a 24-21 lead. But Mayfair

responded less than a minute later as Brown scored again, this time

from 47 yards out to re-gain the lead for the Monsoons, 28-24, with

5:14 left in the quarter. Less than three minutes later, Medina score

his second touchdown, a 30-yard run, giving the Lancers a 31-28 lead.

 

The Lancers would increase the lead on their next possession as they

recovered another Mayfair fumble, this one at the Mayfair 32. On that

drive, Medina scored for a third time, 12 seconds into the final

quarter, this one from two yards out. Medina would score a final time

five minutes later, again from two yards out, giving the Lancers a

45-28 lead.

 

Woo would score a second time with 3:23 left in the game, calling his

own number for an 18-yard run, but on the point after, Wright, acting

as the placeholder for kicker David Grkinich, picked up the ball and

attempted to run it in for a two-point conversion, but was stopped

cold five yards short of the goal. On their final possession, the

Monsoons, pushed deep in their own territory, gave up a safety as Woo

slipped in the end zone trying to evade a blitz.

 

The Lancers will advance to the quarterfinals as they face off again

Los Altos High next Friday for a shot at the Semi-Finals.

 

SCORING SUMMARY

 

La Serna 314141647

Mayfair14 7 7 634

 

SCORES

1st Quarter

8:00 – LS – Tavis Guerra 32 Field Goal

52.0 – M – Christian Woo 1 run David Grkinich kick

09.0 – M – Keenan Wright 18 pass from Woo Grkinich kick

2nd Quarter

8:42 – LS – O.J. Medina 20 pass from Frankie Palmer Guerra kick

8:10 – M – Aaron Brown 2 run, Grkinich kick

0:00 – LS – Justin Ballesteros 2 pass from Palmer, Guerra kick

3rd Quarter

6:28 – LS – John McFarland 15 pass from Palmer, Guerra kick

5:14 – M – Brown 47 run, Grkinich kick

2:31 – LS – Medina 30 run, Guerra kick

4th Quarter

11:48 – LS – Medina 2 run, Guerra kick

6:36 – LS – Medina 2 run, Guerra kick

3:23 – M – Woo 18 run, Run failed

1:33 – LS – Safety