By Ron Vrooman
(San Gabriel) – The San Gabriel Matadors used a ball-control offense and a solid defense to grind out a 21-3 win over the visiting Alhambra Moors last Friday night.
The victory against Alhambra propelled the Matadors (6-4 overall) to sole possession of second place in the Almont League and a first-round Division 13 playoff game at home against Los Amigos (6-4) this Friday.
For the Moors, who finished fifth in league and ended up 1-9 overall, this will be the first time they’ve missed the playoffs after a full season since 2018.
Sophomore running back Adam Mascorro led the way for San Gabriel, carrying the ball 17 times for 120 yards and a touchdown. Teammate Alex Acevedo, a senior, rushed 12 times for 75 yards and a score as the Matadors gained a total of 223 yards on the ground.
After Acevedo’s five-yard scoring run gave the Matadors an early 7-0 lead, the Moors drove 52 yards to the San Gabriel 13 on their first possession of the night. Then, on 4th-and-8 with the ball still at the 13-yard line, Emilio Reynoso hit a 30-yard field goal to make the score 7-3 late in the first quarter.
However, Reynoso’s kick gave the Moors their only points of the night, as they failed to get past their own 45-yard line the rest of the game. Alhambra mustered only 82 total yards, to San Gabriel’s 255 yards.
The Matadors increased their lead to 14-3 on a three-yard keeper by quarterback Efren Torres with just over a minute remaining before halftime. San Gabriel then put the game away on Mascorro’s 51-yard touchdown run late in the final quarter.
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Didn’t see game , you might be right . But there’s a huge secondary gain for not blowing them out like you say they could have ! That’s my point . Current structure sets up these coaching conundrums; to clarify , I don’t think coaches are “ tanking” games but there’s a whole different feel of you know losing might help you re: playoff situation. Same thing for game management and score differential.
Good luck to all in playoffs !
21-3 is close now? Sg held them to 82 yards of total offense. Barely crossed the 50 all game. I think sg has class and just respects coach Eric to not run it up.
Eking out close wins like this vs subpar 1-9 teams kept San Gabriel at top of D 13 . Some would say this is great coaching ; I say arbitrary and flawed system.
Good luck in the playoffs !