Despite Tesoro’s undefeated record going into their CIF semifinal match against Orange Lutheran, I think most people assumed the Lutheran Lancers would win—after all, fate seemed to dictate it. O. Lu and Poly have met in the playoffs in the last two years, and both games have been classics, the first a 23-22 Lutheran win (after Poly missed its final extra point) and last year’s meeting, a 2-0 victory by Poly that’s one of the all-time great games played in Southern California (unless you don’t like defense). Plus, O. Lu had just beaten previously unbeaten (and highly ranked nationally) Sherman Oaks/Notre Dame. Apparently, somebody forgot to tell Tesoro, who absolutely manhandled the Lancers, 42-14. The Titans will now advance to face Poly in the championship game this Saturday at 7:30pm, at Angel Stadium.
Tesoro was impressive in pretty much every phase of the game—they came out firing on offense, running the ball effectively behind a massive offensive line, and throwing all over a pretty talented Lutheran secondary, too. Robbie Picazo was 15/21 for 206 yards and three TDs for the Titans, and he could’ve taken a stroller for a walk inside the massive pocket his linemen walled off for him. Running back Zach Mitchell was elusive and explosive, but much of the credit for his 100+ yard performance has to be given to that line, which made life pretty easy for him.
But while Picazo and Mitchell (as well as standout receiver Preston King) are impressive, it was the Tesoro defense that propped them up, limiting Lutheran’s three-headed running back hydra to just nine yards—last week against undefeated Notre Dame they had over 300. The Titans kept the Lancers out of their side of the field for the entire first half, sacked O. Lu’s QB five times, ripped and recovered a fumble, and had a pick. And, thought it won’t be noted in a stat line, I didn’t see a single missed tackle.
In other words, they’re looking really, really good in coach Brian Barnes’ second season wearing the headset. Fox Sports talked to Poly coach Raul Lara at halftime, and he had plenty to say about the Titans’ lines. “They’re huge. I couldn’t believe how big they are.”
As to whether or not they’re good enough to topple the Jackrabbits—well, we’ll find out on Saturday in a clash of the undefeateds. Stay tuned this week as we’ll break down how these two teams match up, as well as give some keys to a Poly victory.