Central Conference : Valencia’s Defense Helps Squeeze Out Win Over Artesia

Well, at least Valencia High School is living up to expectations in the Southern Section Central Conference playoffs.

One night after the conference’s second- (Saddleback), third- (Tustin) and fourth-seeded (La Habra) teams were upset in the quarterfinals, Valencia rallied for a 17-14 victory over Artesia to move into the semifinals next week against Sunny Hills.

The Tigers, the conference’s top-seeded team, drove 77 yards with the second-half kickoff to take a three-point lead and their defense did the rest of the work Saturday night as the Tigers improved to 10-1-1.

A crowd of 3,000 in Bradford Stadium watched Artesia outplay Valencia in the first half, only to see the Tigers’ defense contain the Pioneers in the second half. The Tigers also had a little luck on their side.

The key play on the winning drive was a 14-yard pass from quarterback Chris DeRisio to wide receiver Mike Edwards, on which Artesia defensive back Kevin Kansaki should be credited with an assist.

Kansaki appeared to have intercepted the poorly thrown pass at the Pioneer 20-yard line, but the ball squirted out of his hands and into the awaiting arms of Edwards. Edwards accepted the gift and raced to the Pioneer four-yard line for a first down.

Two plays later, fullback Keef Leasure scored on a one-yard run, Valencia had a three-point lead and Artesia was sent packing.

“We practice that play all the time,” Tiger Coach Mike Marrujo joked. “We didn’t play very well in the first half. Every time we got something going, we did something silly.”

Artesia, which finished 8-4, looked surprisingly strong in the first half, rushing for 91 yards and passing for another 51 en route to a 14-10 lead. The Pioneers gave an early indication of their prowess by driving 76 yards on their first possession for a touchdown.

The big play was a fake punt. Blocker Damon Davis took the center snap and ran 18 yards for a first down. Three plays later, wide receiver Daniel Bugay caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brian Smith for a 7-0 lead.

But the Pioneers managed only one first down in the second half and that came late in the fourth quarter when Valencia was cited for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The Tigers limited Smith to 17 yards passing after intermission.

“Our defense played well,” Marrujo said. “Artesia was a good team that just got better and better as the year progressed. I’m very happy to win.”

Valencia linebacker Kevin Barton set up the Tigers’ first touchdown when he recovered a fumble at the Artesia 25-yard line. DeRisio connected with Edwards on a 10-yard scoring play to tie the score, 7-7, with 2:14 remaining in the first quarter.

DeRisio completed 7 of 17 pass attempts for 83 yards and a touchdown. Edwards was his favorite target, catching 6 passes for 76 yards.

Artesia held a 14-10 lead at halftime thanks to a 16-yard punt by Valencia’s Alan Harrison and a questionable pass interference call. Tiger defensive back Randy Roskelly was cited for interference, giving the Pioneers a first down at Valencia’s 21-yard line.

On the next play, Davis raced 21 yards for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead. Davis had 77 yards in 10 carries in the half, but was held to minus five yards in three carries in the second half.

Paul Rivera kicked a 19-yard field goal with only 17 seconds remaining to finish the first-half scoring. The Tigers had a first and goal at Artesia’s five-yard line following a 32-yard run by Leasure. But three plays netted only three yards and Marrujo elected to go for the field goal.

The field goal was an unpopular decision with the partisan fans, but it proved to be the difference in the game. Marrujo said he had no choice but to settle for three points.

“We had to get some points, and we didn’t have any timeouts left,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if we had time to even huddle up. We couldn’t afford to take the risk of trying to score the TD.”

And so, the Tigers will play surprising Sunny Hills next Friday at a site to be determined today in the Southern Section office in Cerritos. Sunny Hills has shown its equally tough offensively and defensively, scoring 51 points in the first round against La Quinta and then limiting second-seeded Saddleback to two touchdowns in a 16-14 upset victory.

“Sunny Hills’ defense is awesome,” Marrujo said. “I think the game will be a knock-down, drag-out affair. Regardless of what happens, I’m very proud of this team.

“They’ve been overachievers the whole year, and here we are in the semis.”