Fresh off back-to-back section titles, and a thrilling 27-24 win over Milpitas, a school that is roughly two and a half times the size of Campolindo’s student body, the Cougars now seek back-to-back state championships. Campolindo plays down south this week, heading to La Mirada High School to play the host Matadores for the CIF III-AA title. Kickoff is Saturday night at 6:00.
For the Cougars, this week represents another opportunity to make a statement on the big stage, but it will have to happen against a La Mirada team which has won 11 straight games after starting the season 1-3. Those three losses, however, were to powerhouse programs St. John Bosco, Mater Dei, and San Clemente. Since then, the Matadores have been rolling past every opponent in their way, outscoring six league opponents by a combined score of 371-14, and beating Oceanside in the regional final, 36-14.
“We are facing a much better opponent this week,” said Campolindo coach Kevin Macy. “We pulled off everything we could to win last week, but we took a physical beating. We’ve developed a scrappy method of winning, though, and we’re happy as a team to be playing at this stage.”
The Cougars advanced to this game despite a season-low 23 rushing yards against a much larger Milpitas team last week. Junior quarterback Jacob Westphal threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns, and sophomore utility player John Torchio threw a 59-yard touchdown to Madison Young on a double pass from Westphal. Young had three catches for 144 yards and two scores in the game, and Campolindo overcame three turnovers to outlast the Trojans on Matt Blair’s 32-yard field goal with under a minute remaining. Blair had two field goals in the win.
“No two games have been the same for us this year,” Macy said. “We weren’t able to run the ball like we normally do, but we found other ways to get it done. We’re never going to roll over, and we will be the outlier as the team that can win these types of games.”
This week, that type of game will be against a La Mirada team which features a physical and athletic defense, led by defensive end Keanu Saleapaga, who is committed to USC. Defensive lineman Ty Ueli-Faatoalia bolsters the front line, while linebackers Cameron Carr and Titus Dixon have been forces in the front seven. Defensive backs RJ Lan and Elijah Hicks have also played strong all season.
Offensively, senior running back Sei-j Lauago has compiled 1,667 yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground this season, including 155 yards and a score in the win over Oceanside last week. Junior quarterback Tristan Meyer has led the passing game for the Matadores with 1,927 yards and 27 touchdowns, with just four interceptions. Meyer has completed 66 percent of his passes for the year.
The Campolindo defense will be challenged by a La Mirada offense that averages 221 yards per game on the ground and 167 yards per game through the air. In addition, the Matadores have four receivers with at least 300 yards through the air, including Micah Croom, who leads the team with 24 catches for 383 yards and six touchdowns.
With a balanced approach for La Mirada, Macy states Campolindo’s goals defensively are to “hold on and contain their athletes.” Offensively, the Cougars would obviously prefer to run the ball better than last week, but also have a stated goal of improving pass protection, as Westphal spent a good portion of last week with Milpitas defenders in his face on passing plays.
This is the third appearance in the CIF championship game for Campolindo, while La Mirada is making its first appearance. The Cougars lost 21-16 to Washington Union-Fresno in 2011, and then evened their record by defeating El Capitan-Lakeside, 35-28, in an epic comeback last year. Campolindo trailed 28-7 late in the third quarter last year before rallying to tie the game at 28, and then won the game in the most improbable fashion, when Adam Remotto returned a fumble 85 yards for the victory.
This year’s game is not scheduled to be televised, but is scheduled to be aired on live stream through Campolindo’s channel on The Cube.
