(South El Monte)—It was over early at The Swamp on Saturday night. The Southmen led 14-0 at the end of the first, 28-7 at the half, and 49-7 at the end of the third. The final score in the CIF State Division 7A Regionals was South El Monte 56, Santee 7.
With a CIF-SS title in their back pocket, the Eagles came out relaxed.
“That’s the way they are,” HC Frank Gallardo said of his team. “They don’t get all uptight about things, and sometimes I’m the one who gets uptight. I don’t want to get them uptight, so I try to stay away from them. They’re really a loose group of guys who are just out to have fun.”
The first boom came on a 50-yard hook-up from Michael Maldonado to Gabriel Canchola to make it 7-0.
In the midst of the booms, South’s deluxe trenchman Abraham Martinez provided the bash. Abe The Bull, living in the Santee backfield, registered three tackles for losses.
“What can I say about that kid (Martinez). That kid is probably our emotional spark plug; he’s always getting our guys going.”
Ivan Lopez added a 26-yard scoop and score, while Canchola added two picks and a 61-yard punt return.
The ensuing booms were delivered by running back Damian Cordova with paydirt strikes of 24 and 4-yards. Maldonado added a 4-yard run, and backup running back Fernando Freire delivered the closing thunder with scoring runs of 10 and 7-yards.
Cordova finished with 97 yards on 11 carries. Freire collected 64 yards on 10 attempts.
Falcons standout Darnell Miller rushed 30 times for 157 yards and had a 75-yard touchdown called back on a holding penalty. Santee’s lone score came on Kevin Castillo’s 26-yard touchdown run late in the first half.
Road grading for the Eagles’ backs was:
LT—Abraham Martinez
LG—Sebastian Gallegos
C—Daniel Ruiz
RG—Armando De La Rosa
RT—Ivan Lopez
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vicarious? Gallardo also assisted at Whittier for several years on varsity and maybe on lower levels earlier
Frank Gallardo is an El Rancho grad… sorry lancerito can’t take credit for that one.
SEM coach Gallardo was a La Serna assistant in the past, so it’s only right that fans of those Lancers feel a touch of pride seeing one of their own go this far. While the Eagles’ journey can’t erase the hurt of being ousted from this year’s postseason, it should provide at least a small amount of comfort. The Lancers will be fine in the future, provided of course that they steer clear of RHP.