CIF Football Playoffs Are Coming To Santa Monica

By Mitch Chortkoff

Norm Lacy, the Santa Monica High football coach, has made good on his wish to bring a CIF playoff game to Corsair Field.

With a 28-7 first round victory over host Duarte in the Division 10 competition Friday night Samohi earned home privileges in the second round.

Samohi will be home Friday night at 7:30 but will have to play a defending CIF champion, Paso Robles, which routed San Marino in the first round, 49-7.

Since Paso Robles was home in the first round and Santa Monica away the CIF rules give Samohi the home game.

After Samohi won its first playoff game since 1987 Lacy observed:

``Santa Monica deserves to be the host for a CIF playoff game, which is the highest goal we strive for. I'm very happy we can bring this game to our fans at Corsair Field.''

A large contingent of Samohi fans made the 40-mile drive to Duarte. What they saw initially couldn't give them much confidence.

Duarte took the opening kickoff and kept the ball for six minutes, driving 75 yards to a touchdown. Since the Falcons had participated in a 62-54 game in their league this season it seemed they were in fine offensive form.

But they didn't score for the rest of the game. Samohi scored on a six-yard TD run by Derrick Davis but missed the extra point. Then Samohi scored on quarterback James Cooper's keeper around right end and made a two-point conversion on a pass to Terrell Maze.

That made it 14-6 at halftime. In the third quarter Cooper found Chris Gary for a 27-yard TD pass. The scoring concluded late in the game when fullback Jesus Valdovinos rambled 20 yards into the end zone.

Samohi accomplished the victory without much help from Davis, who gained 1,700 yards during the regular season. He suffered a high ankle sprain returning a kickoff to the 45-yard-line following Duarte's opening touchdown.

He tried to play but even though he scored a touchdown Davis was injured. He sat out the rest of the game and won't practice much this week. Whether he can play remains to be seen.

So how did Samohi control the ball on the ground most of the game without Davis? Two ways.

First, the offensive line was terrific. The guys up front dominated their opponent, presenting running room to sophomore Adrian Gonzalez. Second, Gonzalez came through with, according to unoffcial statistics, 161 yards on 26 carries.

It looks good for next season too. Davis will be a senior and Gonzalez a junior. Gonzalez doesn't have Davis' breakaway speed but appears to be quite durable.

All season he has established himself on defense. But when he suddenly had to play offense he reminded me of Damian Doby, who did the same thing for Lacy's CIF championship St. Monica High team three seasons ago.

Doby was a star defensive player who was called upon to run the ball when the playoffs began. All he did was gain 700 yards in four playoff victories.

That St. Monica team was third in its league. This Samohi team is also third in its league. But this Samohi team will have a tough time advancing because Paso Robles will be formidable. And down the road, if Samohi keeps winning, it likely will have to play Ocean League champion Inglewood, which defeated the Vikings during the season.

Right how the significance is that Samohi has won a football playoff game for the first time since 1987.