Calabasas Gets Roughed Up

The last two games pretty much summed up the season for the Calabasas High football team.

With Robby Coppola healthy, the Coyotes win. Without him, they don’t.

Coppola re-injured his left ankle on the third play of the second quarter and Calabasas had trouble generating offense after that in a 21-3 loss to St. Monica in a Southern Section Division X quarterfinal Saturday night at St. Bernard High in Playa del Rey.

Coppola, who finished the season with 1,219 yards, missed the last three regular-season games because of a sprained ankle. With their leading rusher out, the Coyotes (7-5) lost twice and sputtered to a fourth-place finish in the Frontier League.

Coppola returned last week and rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-14 upset of top-seeded St. Bonaventure.

His injury Saturday couldn’t have come at a worse time. The Coyote offense seemed to finally get untracked. Coppola, who finished with 41 yards in 10 carries, had runs of 25 and 15 yards during a second-quarter drive.

It was at the end of the 15-yard run that Coppola came up limping. He did not have a carry after that.

“It really made a difference,” Calabasas Coach Larry Edwards said. “If he’s not in the game, you can’t give him the ball and you can’t have the possibility of him giving you a big play.”

Coppola had 238 yards and three touchdowns in a 48-28 victory over St. Monica earlier this season. But with Coppola out, the Mariners (9-4) out-gained the Coyotes in total yards, 271-85. Calabasas had only 17 yards rushing.

Coyote quarterback Dallas Enoch, who completed six of 12 for 68 yards, was sacked eight times.

St. Monica took advantage of good field position. After getting the ball at their 44, the Mariners drove 56 yards in five plays, capped by a 14-yard touchdown pass play from Chris Griffin to James Dunn.

They extended their lead to 13-0 after receiving a punt at the Calabasas 39. St. Monica took six plays to score on a one-yard run by Nate Anderson. The extra point hit the left upright and bounced away.

Trailing, 21-3, Enoch connected with Bilal Hasan on a 54-yard pass play to the St. Monica 11, but Calabasas fumbled on the next play.