Football good for a lift in bad economy

Temecula Chaparral High Coach Tom Leach marveled at the community’s response to the financial crisis that has ensnared players and coaches at his school.

Someone offered Leach a high-paying marketing job and boosters have purchased protein bars, bananas and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to help feed the 15 or so players whose families are struggling to survive in an area dubbed Foreclosure Alley.

“The good thing,” said Leach, who was among those who lost their homes, “is that people feel bad about it and are willing to help.”

Otherwise, Leach’s team has its fans feeling good. The Pumas shut down heralded quarterback Tyler Shreve on Friday during a 20-0 victory over Redlands East Valley in an Inland Division quarterfinal, intercepting three passes in the fourth quarter and limiting Shreve to 80 yards passing.

The third-seeded Pumas (11-1) will play at Norco (8-4) in a semifinal Saturday that is a rematch of the 2006 Inland championship game won by Norco, 43-0.

Chaparral has won 11 consecutive games since opening the season with a 26-16 loss to Corona Centennial, a defeat the Pumas could potentially avenge in the title game. Top-seeded Centennial (12-0) plays host to Murrieta Valley (9-3) on Friday in the other Inland semifinal.

Leach, who lost his home a year ago when he couldn’t make the $3,200 monthly payment, tries to soothe his worried players by relaying his personal experiences in one-on-one meetings. Three players’ families lost their homes to foreclosures and others are struggling to pay for basic necessities.

“Most of the kids, when they come in there, they feel embarrassed,” said Leach, who now rents a room in Lake Elsinore. “I talk to them about my situation and try to make them feel better.”

Rematch

UCLA-bound quarterback Richard Brehaut looked at the Central Division playoff bracket a few weeks ago and figured the color scheme might not involve powder blue versus cardinal the next time he played Stanford-bound counterpart Josh Nunes.

Sure enough, second-seeded Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos (10-2) and Brehaut will play Upland (10-2) and Nunes in a semifinal Saturday at Upland after both teams logged quarterfinal victories.

Brehaut has won all three varsity meetings against Nunes, including a 41-28 triumph last month at Los Osos. The key to that victory wasn’t so much the play of the quarterbacks as it was that of the Los Osos defense, which intercepted two Nunes passes and held running back Davion Fleming to 47 yards.

Playoff tidbits

Burbank’s bid to win a second playoff game in eight days after not winning one in 71 years came up short when West Covina scored 28 consecutive points in the fourth quarter of a 49-28 victory in a Southeast Division quarterfinal. . . . San Juan Capistrano St. Margaret’s stretched its winning streak to 40 games with a 17-6 victory over Yucca Valley in an East Valley Division quarterfinal. The Tartans could tie the Orange County record of 41 consecutive victories set by Mission Viejo in 2001-03 if they win next weekend. . . . Colton Grandbouche had five catches for 157 yards and two touchdowns to help Anaheim Canyon defeat Fullerton, 53-17, in a Southwest Division quarterfinal. The Comanches reached a semifinal for the first time since 1979. . . . Imagine having your season end in defeat because of an inadvertent whistle on a game’s final play. Vacaville Christian’s kickoff return for a go-ahead touchdown was waved off, giving Sacramento Bradshaw Christian a 27-25 win in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII title game.

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ben.bolch@latimes.com