Laguna Blanca’s football team needed to be at the top of its game against top-seeded Thacher in Friday’s CIF Division 1 8-man football quarterfinals.
When the Owls were forced to punt on their first two possessions of the game, they put themselves in a difficult situation. Thacher scored on its first three possessions and then held the Owls without a score in the second half to post a 60-20 victory under the lights at San Marcos’ Warkentin Stadium.
Powerback Lukas Cesena was a beast for the unbeaten Toads (11-0). He ran for three touchdowns and made a spectacular catch in the back of the end zone for another score.
On defense, down linemen Laurence Jackson and Zion Alcindor harassed Laguna Blanca quarterback Stephen McCaffery all game long. McCaffery still managed to throw a pair of touchdowns and run for one. His 1-yard rushing touchdown, which put the Owls on the board in the second quarter, was set up by an incredible individual effort on a third-and-8 from his 17. McCaffery scrambled around, ducked a tackler and threw a long pass to Robert Estrada for a 48-yard gain.
Thacher’s defense kept McCaffery and the Owls out of the end zone in the second half.
“It’s tough because their offense is nuanced and tricky, and No. 11 (McCaffery) is such a great creative player and such a threat with his legs and his arm,” Thacher coach Jeff Hooper said of defending against the Owls. “We got some big stops, we were able to get some good pressure on him, get him on the ground a few times and put them in long-yardage situations.”
After Laguna Blanca lost 60-24 against Thacher two weeks ago in their Condor League game, Owls coach Shane Lopes said he expected the rematch to be closer.
“There’s no surprise on their end, but I did expect our guys to capitalize on a few opportunities that we had and we didn’t do that. And that’s just how it goes. It wasn’t our night.”
The Owls (6-5) cut the deficit to 30-20 on a 29-yard TD pass from McCaffery to Estrada and a McCaffery 2-point conversion run with 1:42 left in the first half.
But Thacher responded behind the play of Cesena. He had a pair of 12-yard runs and made a beautiful diving catch in the back of the end zone of an 18-yard pass from quarterback Griffin McMahon with 30 seconds left in the half. Emmanuel Aruho’s 2-point conversion run gave the Toads a 38-20 lead.
“He’s a tough matchup for a lot of kids,” said Hooper of Cesena.
Laguna Blanca recovered a Thacher fumble early in the second half and returned it to the Toads’ 25. But a holding penalty and a sack forced the Owls to punt.
Thacher put together a nine-play drive, with McMahon scoring from 1-yard out. Cesena ran for the PAT, giving the Toads a commanding 46-20 advantage.
“They’re tough,” said Lopes of Thacher. “They don’t have a large play book but they’re good at what they do.”
