November 6, 2024
By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X
Shortly after his team fell a few yards short of a potential winning touchdown over Warren High, La Mirada High head coach Lucas Mealy stated that he couldn’t have felt more prouder of a loss. Of course, he wasn’t talking about the eventual loss to Warren for the right to claim third place in the Gateway League and a berth in the CIF-Southern Section playoffs, but in the sense of how his team played in the second half.
Left for dead early in the second quarter after a 59-yard interception return for a touchdown by Kymani Hollis, making it 21-0, the Matadores trailed by 10 at the half, then took their first lead early in the fourth quarter only to lose to the Bears 38-35. Both teams finished the regular season at 3-7, but the difference was the Bears went 3-2 in league action while the Matadores were 2-3.
The lead changed hands four times in the final stanza and the game wasn’t decided until junior running back Jordan Lauago was stopped at the seven-yard line on fourth and two with 16 seconds remaining. The Matadores had begun the drive at their own 20-yard line and converted on fourth and six and third and 10 earlier in the drive.
“We’ve been asking for these guys to kind of grow up a little bit this whole season,” said Mealy. “Sometimes as a coach, you don’t necessarily see those big gains or those big growths. But our guys showed that they have grown up, not just throughout the season, but tonight. It was a game of inches, and it showed.”
Mealy said he believes in trusting his guys and it’s not that he doesn’t trust his special teams, but he believes in showing his offense. The play was for Lauago, the team’s leading rusher, to go to the right side, but he was stopped at the seven-yard line, one yard short of a first down.
La Mirada had scored on two straight possessions in the second quarter to cut into Warren’s three-touchdown advantage. Lauago scored on a one-yard run with 8:17 left before halftime, then after the defense forced Warren to punt, the Matadores chewed up just over five minutes on a 10-play, 55-yard drive. On fourth and three, junior quarterback Santino Garcia connected with senior wide receiver Max Rankin for a 22-yard touchdown play with 2:14 left in the half.
But the Bears weren’t about to call it a half as they went 36 yards on seven plays and settled for a 33-yard field goal from John Jaimes with no time left on the clock. Despite being down by 10 at halftime, the Matadores felt they were still in the game, running 14 more plays and owning the time of possession by a two to one margin while gaining 18 fewer yards on offense.
“I just told them flat out, ‘this is fun’,” said Mealy of his halftime speech. “When you go down 21-0, it’s easy to tuck your tail between your legs, and our guys battled. You want to go out there and make plays and have to put yourself in a position where you have to really try.”
Warren began the second half on a long 10-play drive that took up over half the third quarter. But it ended when freshman Ryan Gonzales completed the defensive trifecta as he sacked quarterback Jamar Malone, causing him to fumble, then returning fumble 61 yards for a touchdown.
At this point, the Matadores were feeling the pendulum swinging in their favor because three plays into the fourth quarter, Lauago put his team in front with a 52-yard touchdown run, which would be followed by four straight running plays from Teralle Watson, which led to Malone throwing a 20-yard score to Jalen Ross with 8:27 left in the game.
La Mirada responded with two short runs from senior running back Madden Carino and six straight runs from Lauago, the last being a 17-yard gain for a 35-31 lead with 4:31 remaining. The Matadores were aided by a 24-yard kickoff return from Rankin and a pair of illegal chop block infractions by the Bears.
But that lead lasted a little more than two and a half minutes because Warren drove 65 yards on seven plays with Watson scoring the game-winning touchdown on a six-yard run. Still, the Mats had one last burst beginning with Rankin hauling in a 19-yard reception on first down from the La Mirada 39-yard line. Later in the drive, Lauago caught a 15-yard pass on first down and a 17-yard pass on third and 10.
“Moral victories are tough, and I’m still growing as a coach,” said Mealy. “I don’t know everything, obviously. For the underclassmen, that was a moral victory in a sense because it showed them that…Warren, in my opinion, is the most talented I’ve seen in the area. So, it showed them we’re capable of anything.”
La Mirada ended the game still outgaining the Bears 325-289 as Lauago rushed for 139 yards on 21 carries and caught five of Garcia’s passes for 76 yards while Rankin hauled in four passes for 54 yards. After going nine of 14 for 97 yards in the first half, Garcia ended the night completing 14 of 26 passes for 161 yards while on defense, senior linebacker Spencer Ammons had nine tackles, senior safety Drew Cobos had five tackles and Rankin four tackles.
“Santino has proven his whole time with me that he’s an incredibly smart quarterback,” said Mealy. “He know the offense as well as I do. Jordan plays an outside receiver and sometimes, he’s at a disadvantage because of his size. But at times, he’s at an advantage because of his shiftiness and his ability to control his body. Those guys have a connection.”
