Loyola Shocks St. John Bosco

Observers of Serra League games this season have grown accustomed to the notion that anything is possible, but nobody could have seen this coming.

Los Angeles Loyola, which stumbled to a fourth-place finish in the Serra League, used a dominating defense to stifle league champion and No. 3-seeded Bellflower St. John Bosco, 38-8, in a Southern Section Division I quarterfinal Friday night at Glendale High.

Loyola, which has won four major division championships and been to the finals 10 times, will face Los Alamitos in a semifinal on Dec. 7 at Edison Field in Anaheim.

“We finally played a complete game,� Loyola Coach Steve Grady said. “I told our offensive coordinator that we would need 28 points to win this, but I never imagined our defense would hold them to eight.�

St. John Bosco, which averaged 28.7 points in its first 11 games, had only 167 yards and six first downs Friday. St. John Bosco, which trailed 17-0 at halftime, had 37 yards and no first downs in the first half.

It was a stark contrast to the league meeting between these teams, when St. John Bosco (9-3) held Loyola to 18 yards in the first half and won, 24-13.

Loyola (9-3) forced a fumble and Quintin Daniels had two interceptions for the Cubs. Loyola turned the three turnovers into 17 points.

St. John Bosco’s leading receiver Joe Cowan had one catch -- a five-yard out with 4:53 to play. Other than a short gain on a screen pass that was called back because of a penalty, it was the only time Cowan touched the ball.

Bo Renaud led the Loyola offense with 159 yards and three touchdowns in 45 carries. Quarterback Scott Deke completed seven of 13 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown. His 53-yards scoring strike to Daniels gave Loyola a 38-8 lead with 6:23 left in the third quarter.

Daniels finished with four catches for 107 yards. Derrick Williams had 90 yards in 12 carries for St. John Bosco.

Peter Yoon

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Long Beach Poly 43, Rialto Eisenhower 3 -- Junior wide receiver Derrick Jones caught touchdown passes of 41, 62 and 77 yards in the first half and the Jackrabbits routed the Eagles in a quarterfinal at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach.

Poly (11-1) took a 28-3 lead by halftime on the strength of those touchdown plays. Jones finished with four receptions for 229 yards, all in the first half.

The Jackrabbit defense held Eisenhower (7-5) to 90 yards.

The Eagles were playing without Coach Glenn Thompkins, who is on paid administrative leave after his arrest on suspicion of having sex with a 17-year-old female student.

The game was stopped with 5:20 left in the third quarter when Poly receiver Khalid Abdur-Rahim was injured on a tackle along the right sideline. Abdur-Rahim was motionless for 10 minutes before being carried off the field on a stretcher. He was taken to Long Beach Memorial Hospital.

Poly athletic trainer Rob Shock said that Abdur-Rahim reported numbness on his left side but could move his arms and legs.

Quarterback Leon Jackson completed seven of 15 passes for 289 yards and the three touchdowns. Running back Lorenzo Bursey rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown in 15 carries for the Jackrabbits, who play Mater Dei in the semifinals.

Eric Stephens

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Santa Ana Mater Dei 30, Anaheim Esperanza 12 -- The Monarchs took advantage of five Esperanza turnovers and won the quarterfinal at Cal State Fullerton.

Mater Dei (9-3) blew the game open by scoring three consecutive second-half touchdowns following turnovers.

Mater Dei played without running back Rafael Rice, who rushed for a team-high 930 yards and 18 touchdowns in 11 games this season, but reinjured his back last week against Redlands East Valley and was unable to play.

Rafael’s brother, Cortez, quarterback Jason Forcier and reserve running back John Martinez picked up the slack.

Cortez rushed for 67 yards and two touchdowns, Forcier rushed for 92 yards and Martinez rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown.

Brandon Weiner missed a 30-yard field goal on Esperanza’s opening possession of the game, then had his extra-point attempt blocked after he caught a 13-yard touchdown pass on the opening play of the second half to cut the lead to 9-6.

Esperanza’s loss ended the 27-year coaching career of Gary Meek, who will step down to become the school’s athletic director.

Esperanza finished the season with a 10-2 record.

-- Dan Arritt