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SoCal Varsity White QFs Latest

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SoCal Varsity White QFs Latest

Four teams are now left in the Southern California Varsity White division after they won their quarterfinal games this weekend.

Wilson HS defeated San Marcos 35-15 in one of those quarterfinals. San Pasqual hammered Santiago 44-7. Los Alamitos defeated La Jolla by a wide margin (officially recorded score 66-26), and University City beat the San Clemente HS Tritons 40-24.

So there were no upsets. All four conference winners beat the #2-seed teams they hosted.

 

Wilson controlled possession early and scored in the first ten minutes to lead 5-0. San Marcos replied with a penalty goal and continued to battle throughout the game. Wilson was just a little better at getting points from their opportunities. Wilson started to pile on the tries, and only an interception pick-seven interrupted the flood. Wilson led 28-10 at halftime, and both teams scored tries in an error- and penalty-strewn second half. 

Captain Graeme Tanaka was excellent and had his best game of the season. Shawn Winston was a force and scored four tries. 

Los Al dominated proceedings in their quarterfinal, showcasing a very balanced attack and controlling possession. The power running of the Los Alamitos forwards sucked in La Jolla defenders, and that opened things for the backs. La Jolla did show a little offensive bite, scoring four tries. For Los Al, Seleve Tuisalo'o and Joey Noble scored two tries each. Eli Kasiano had a good day kicking, putting over seven conversions, while Simon Gerard added four.

For University City, it ended up close late, but UC scored the first five tries, so early on they looked in charge.

Patrick Madden continues to play well for University City, and he broke through for a crucial score that put the game away,

"It was a classic tale of two halves," said UC Head Coach Jason Lee. "We almost Atlanta Falconed the game."

As has been the case in many games early this year, the new enforcement of high tackles has been an ongoing issue for many teams. Players are sometimes not adjusting to the way referees have been asked to enforce legal tackling, and for the Tritons, this proved to be an issue as they were a player down for significant portions of the contest. 

Lee said the Tritons continued to battle throughout the game, while his team could have done better in the second half.

"I was proud of my boys' efforts in the first half," said Lee. "But we have some work to do if we want to be competitive against Wilson next week."  

And San Pasqual took care of business against Santiago. A light rain made the ball slick and San Pasqual decided to just run the ball up the middle with the forwards. It worked. Scrumhalf Ben Charles handled the conditions well and worked with his forwards. Flyhalf Hunter Boyce played a smart game and set up hard-charging center Cole Hardan for two tries. Boyce and Charles also scored in the game.

"Apart from some sloppy stuff we did either side of halftime, we finally played close to our best game," said San Pasqual Head Coach Ray Steel.

So the preliminary look at next week's semifinals has Los Alamitos taking on San Pasqual and University City facing Wilson.