By Rich Whittington
(San Dimas) – The San Dimas Saints were eliminated from the CIF Playoffs by the visiting St. Margaret’s Tartans Friday evening, 38-28, in what can best be described as a Tale of Two Ballgames.
To quote Charles Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”, for San Dimas, as the Saints played poorly in the first half, only to play almost flawless football in the games final two quarters.
The Saints began the scoring for the evening, mounting an 11 play, 81-yard, scoring drive on the game’s opening possession, which saw quarterback Teyondre Coleman score on a 1-yard blast. The PAT was added by Mathias Uribe, making the score 7-0, Saints, with 7:21 remaining in the opening period. St. Margaret’s would even the score a short time later, when Benton Barlow broke loose for a 60-yard scoring run.
Sean Olvera-Harle added the PAT, making the score 7-7 with 4:17 to play in the quarter. The Tartans would add another touchdown before the end of the first, utilizing a 35-yard “double pass play” as Benton threw to William Stahl, who threw to Derek Smith for the score. A second Olvera-Harle PAT made the score 14-7, Tartans, as the opening quarter came to a close.
The second quarter belonged to St. Margaret’s. The Tartans added three more touchdowns in the period. The first came on a 5-yard TD pass from Jack Ruff to Smith. The second was also a Ruff to Smith connection, covering 25 yards. The third score of the second was another Ruff toss…this time to William Stahl. Three more Olvera-Harle PAT’s made the score 35-7 at the end of the first half.
The third quarter saw a different Saints team take the field, providing a bit of trickery of their own. San Dimas attempted an “onside kick” which was successfully recovered by Jesse Samec, giving the Saints the ball near the mid-field stripe. Samec would score a couple of minutes later, on a 1-yard TD pop. A second Uribe PAT made the score 35-14, with 9:01 remaining in the third. San Dimas scored again in the quarter, when Coleman connected with Decker Degraaf for a 14-yard catch and run. Another successful Uribe PAT made the score 35-21 with 1:13 remaining in the third quarter.
St. Margaret’s lone score in the period came off the foot of Olvera-Harle, who successfully converted a 35-yard field goal. This made the score 38-21 at the end of the third.
Quarter Four saw the Saints add another TD, as Samec scored on a 12-yard run. Uribe’s PAT attempt was again successful, making the score 38-28, mid way through the period, which is how the game ended.
San Dimas finishes their season with a record of 8-4, 2-1 in Valle Vista League play.
St. Margaret’s improves to 9-4, and will meet the Claremont Wolfpack in the CIF Division 9 Semifinals next Friday night.
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