By Corey Kwok
(Roosevelt HS, Boyle Heights) – Roosevelt lost two fumbles inside Grant’s 20 during the third quarter with one resulting in a touchdown. But Coach Javier Cid and his staff gathered around and mustered up a defensive strategy that proved unwavering come crunch time and Roosevelt went on to beat Grant 14-10 Thursday night in the first round of the LA City Section Division II CIF Playoffs.
A mad and determined Rough Rider core made their stand on a grueling 17 play, 80 yard, drive that stretched from 5:12 in the third to 7:31 in the fourth pushing Grant from First and goal at the eight yard line into losses of 10 and 5 with an all out sweep blitz before regaining control on downs.
Roosevelt looked to put the game away on its ensuing possession but came up short on fourth and 3 at Grant’s 34. Jesse Lira, who racked up 11 yards on 9 carries overall, torched the Lancers for runs of 37 and 22 on the 6 play series.
Grant retained the pigskin with 4:13 left in the game at their own 33 but only got a yard past midfield. Roosevelt’s secondary kept the corners in check, and a fourth down pass from Antonio Jones fell incomplete, preserving a gut wrenching, 14-10 Rough Rider victory.
Jones was a handful as he scrambled for 184 yards on 21 tries and finished 6 of 10 in the air for 60 yards with an interception.
In a game where the run, wildcat, direct snap and draw was the status quo, Manny Ayon started behind center for the Rough Riders, completing 3 of 5 passes for 41 yards and a touchdown strike of 12. The scoring toss came in triple coverage to Lira for the first score of the game. Ayon and Lira combined for 234 on the ground.
Grant turned in its gear for the season with a 5-6 record while Roosevelt won its seventh straight, extending its mark to 10-1. Roosevelt advances to face an explosive and speedy Fairfax squad next week which is coming off of a 27-0 blanking of Bell High. This quarterfinal game will be played Wednesday night at 7:00pm at Roosevelt.
G 0 3 7 0 – 10
R 8 6 0 0 – 14
1Q
(2:33 R 6-0, 8-0) Manny Ayon 12yd pass to Jesse Lira, Brandon Sifuentes 2pt run
2Q
(3:45 G 3-8) Omar Saldana 23yd field goal
(2:13 R 14-3, 14-3) Ayon 4yd run, Sifuentes 2pt run failed
3Q
(7:39 G 9-14, 10-14) Emmanuel Landazuri 1yd run, Saldana xpt
4Q
No scoring
Total Yds (Offense)
G: 252 (60 pass, 192 run)
R: 304 (41 pass, 263 run)
Quarterbacks
G: Antonio Jones 6-10 (60) 1 int
R: Ayon 3-5 (41) 1 td
Receivers
G: Derek Taylor 2-24, Josh Perry 1-18, Anthony Melendez 1-11, Brian Torres 1-6, Robert Luper 1-1
R: Lira 2-28 (1 td), Daniel Lopez 1-13
Rushers
G: Jones 21-184, Luper 10-27, Derek Taylor 1-0, Edwin Portela 1-0, Mario Guzman 1/-1, Landazuri 4/-8 (1 td), Kris Origel 4/-10
R: Ayon 15-123 (1 td), Lira 9-111, Elgin Rosales 8-29, Sifuentes 1-0, Lopez 1-0, Team 1-0 (kneeldown)
Special Teams highlight:
G – Anthony Melendez 57 yd punt.
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