Saturday, December 11, 2004
Titanic task complete:
Tesoro's third-year program snags its first CIF title by beating the top-seeded Pioneers.
By CARLOS ARIAS
The Orange County Register
COSTA MESA Tesoro football coach Jim O'Connell kept hammering home the point that his team's hard work would pay off.
The Tesoro players believed in their coach and went from 1-9 in 2002 to CIF-Southern Section Division IX champions in their third season of varsity football after defeating top-seeded Western, 21-14, in the championship game Friday night in front of 8,000 at Orange Coast College.
"I feel so proud of our kids," O'Connell said. "It's been a great journey."
Senior tailback Evan Handa, who is listed at a generous 5-foot-7 and 170 pounds, might have been one of the smallest players on the Tesoro roster, but he came up with the biggest plays. His 55-yard touchdown reception gave the Titans the momentum in the first quarter, and he finished with 112 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries.
"This is what everyone has been striving for," Handa said. "We knew we had a tight group when we were freshmen. The coaches kept telling us if we put in the hard work it would pay off. All of the lifting, all of the practices and dedication... it all worked out."
Tesoro (12-2) got stopped on a three-and-out on the opening possession of the game, but Western (12-2) appeared to muff the ensuing punt. Michael Tinoco recovered in theend zone for a touchdown.
But the touchdown was taken away because the officials ruled the Western punt returner didn't touch the ball and called it a touchback.
Western took advantage of the opportunity and drove 80 yards in eight plays with running back Devonte Merrifield breaking a 28-yard touchdown run to give the Pioneers a 7-0 lead.
Tesoro's second possession resulted in an interception. But Tesoro's Sean Calcagnie came right back and got an interception for the Titans.
That set the stage for Handa, who took a screen pass from Nick Nelson, broke two tackles, then weaved his way to a 55-yard touchdown to tie it, 7-7, with 2:11 left in the first quarter.
Western was forced to punt on its next possession, and Ryan Craven blocked it to give the Titans a first down at the Western 38.
Seven plays later, Handa scored an 8-yard touchdown on a draw play to give the Titans a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter.
Western responded with a 13-play drive to the Tesoro 6 before the Titans came up with a stop on fourth down.
Tesoro dominated the third quarter, yielding one first down and holding Merrifield to 9 yards on five carries.
In the first half, Merrifield gained more than 100 yards.
The Titans added to their lead when Handa scored on a 2-yard run, pushing past 6-foot-4, 265-pound Travis Kurpjuweit to get into the end zone.
Tesoro forced four turnovers, including three that led to touchdowns.
"Those guys played hard, but we didn't help ourselves," said Western coach Toby Howell, whose team lost to LaHabra in last year's Division IX final.
The Pioneers made things interesting when Merrifield scored on a 40-yard punt return with 2:21 left.
The Pioneers recovered the ensuing onside kick, but Tesoro's defense came up with a huge stand to stop Western on fourth down.
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