From ocregister.com

MOORPARK — Brody Tweedy usually tries to run over defenders. On Friday night, Moorpark coach Christian Dearborn noticed something different about his junior running back.

Tweedy was being patient, finding openings and letting the game come to him.

Tweedy rushed for more than 200 yards and scored three touchdowns, including a 76-yard run, as Moorpark (9-2) defeated Trabuco Hills (7-4) 38-21 in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 5 football playoffs Friday.

“We always give him a hard time because he’s just always so downhill trying to run people over,” Dearborn said. “And he really had great vision tonight.”

Moorpark built a 21-0 lead behind Tweedy’s running game, but Trabuco Hills fought back to within three points in the third quarter before the Musketeers pulled away.

Tweedy opened the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. After Moorpark defensive back Blake Davidson intercepted a Trabuco Hills pass, Tweedy broke free for a 76-yard touchdown on the next play.

“It was just a basic run call,” Tweedy said. “I saw the lane and then the moment it kind of all came clear and I got past everyone, I’m like, just don’t get tracked down.”

Tweedy added a 13-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give Moorpark an early 21-0 advantage.

Trabuco Hills answered with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Johnson before Moorpark kicker Jace Mangers made a 27-yard field goal to extend the lead to 24-7.

Jaden Raimondo caught a 9-yard touchdown pass before halftime, cutting the deficit to 24-14.

Trabuco Hills continued to rely on its running game in the third quarter, with Raimondo scoring on a 2-yard run to bring the Mustangs within 24-21.

Trabuco Hills running back Luke Hoffman, who missed the previous game with a leg injury, also contributed to the Mustangs’ rushing attack.

Trabuco Hills coach Mark Nolan said Hoffman worked hard to return in time for the playoffs.

“He was able to rehab and be very diligent with his training and his PT, and he was able to grit and tough through a playoff game,” Nolan said. “And I thought he played really, really well.”

Davidson said Moorpark’s defense struggled to contain Trabuco Hills’ running game during the comeback.

“We really just needed to stop the run,” Davidson said. “They kept just running the ball right down and we didn’t have an answer for it.”

But Moorpark responded when quarterback Dawson Armstrong connected with Davis Benson on a 64-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 31-21.

Armstrong added a 23-yard touchdown pass to Colby Cronquist in the fourth quarter to give Moorpark a 38-21 lead.

Dearborn said getting the ball to his playmakers was important as Trabuco Hills began focusing its defense on Benson.

“They come down keying on Davis Benson and there goes Colby down the sidelines, just kept working his route,” Dearborn said.

Davidson finished with two interceptions, including one in the end zone with less than two minutes remaining that ended another Trabuco Hills scoring opportunity.

Davidson, who has been playing through a shoulder injury, said the second interception was particularly meaningful.

“That was electric,” Davidson said. “I’ve been dealing with a little bit of a shoulder injury, so playing through that, that has definitely made it more special too.”

Despite the loss, Nolan praised his team’s ability to fight back after falling behind by three touchdowns.

“They showed great grit tonight and they can hold their heads high,” Nolan said.

Moorpark advances to the second round after losing at that stage last season.

“Not many people had high expectations for us,” Tweedy said. “We lost over half our team last year.”

But Tweedy believes this year’s group can go further.

“We don’t get the biggest guys, we don’t get the fastest guys, but everyone here has heart,” he said. “And so I really think we can make a deep run with this group.”

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From ocregister.com

NORWALK — The El Toro girls volleyball dropped a heartbreaking match in five sets to Westridge, 21-25, 26-24, 25-21, 22-25, 15-13, in the CIF-SS Division 5 final Friday night at Cerritos College.

The Chargers (22-11) were seeking their second CIF-SS title and their first since 2021, but instead it was the Tigers who won their first championship since 2006.

El Toro coach Gus Culver thought momentum was on his team’s side after it won the fourth set and forced a fifth set.

“Unfortunately, we had opportunities, we just couldn’t really build on some of the chances that we got, which was a credit to them,” Culver said of Westridge. “They were playing great defense, and the ball kept coming back over the net. And neither team could really spread by more than a couple points. So … you know, at the end, it was close.”

El Toro went up 11-8 in the fifth set after a kill by middle blocker Liz Njoroge. Westridge coach Jenna Wong immediately called a time out for a moment to regroup.

“I think we were just a battle-tested team, and we knew that we had more in us,” Wong said. “We knew that we had been in this situation, and we have seen ourselves be successful. And I think that really showed, even when we were down 8 to 11, you know. We were just never say die, and that has been the theme of this team.

“All through playoffs it’s like, it’s our time. It’s our time. We have done hard things, we deserve to be here. And just believing in that with every fiber of their being has been really great to see.”

The Tigers (22-7-5) rattled off three consecutive points after the timeout, which forced Culver to call a timeout for El Toro.

Westridge went up by two points after an attacking error by El Toro and a kill by Bennett Thein.

Later in the set, an ace by Jolene Lee gave the Tigers set point and then the Chargers misplayed a ball into the net trailing 14-13, ending their shot at the CIF title.

“I thought it was a pretty evenly-fought match and, you know, it’s unfortunate that we were the team that had to lose,” Culver said.

Thein had a match-high 35 kills, Misk Youssef added 14 kills and Chloe Sim chipped in with 10 kills for Westridge.

The Chargers also had three players with double-digit kills. Lindsay Kieth had a team-high 19 kills and 20 digs, Elli Hirosumi tallied 17 kills with 23 digs and Njoroge finished with 10 kills.

Senior setter Sophie Nigro recorded 48 assists and 13 digs for El Toro, which will continue its season in the CIF State playoffs that begin next week.

“I know it’s a lot of volleyball and you guys don’t want to think about it right now, but, you know, we’re back in the gym on Monday and we’ll find out where we’re playing on Sunday,” Culver told his players. “Back in the gym Monday and back to playing on Tuesday.”

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From ocregister.com

COSTA MESA — Corona del Mar’s football team had a two-score lead against Chaminade with under six minutes remaining in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 opening-round playoff game Friday at Estancia High School.

But then a series of consequential plays ensued, all favoring the Eagles: a fourth-down stop, a quick touchdown, a pick-6 seconds later and a forced fumble.

When it was over, Chaminade had come away with a 20-17 victory over the Sea Kings.

The Eagles (8-3) will play Pacifica of Oxnard in the second round. Pacifica defeated Bishop Amat, 56-43, in another first-round game Friday.

“It was just an unbelievable effort by our guys tonight,” Chaminade coach David Machuca said. “We’ve been in so many situations this year where we have been down late in games, and so many times this year we’ve made plays and been relentless and just kept playing.”

Corona del Mar (8-3) took a 14-7 third-quarter lead on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Luca Di Napoli to Nolan Scott.

Di Napoli entered the game in the second half, replacing starter John Annett, who played the entire first half.

The Sea Kings then took a 10-point lead on Mateo Akerman’s 44-yard field goal.

After forcing the Eagles to punt, the Sea Kings took possession with 10 minutes, 41 seconds remaining in the game and were in a position to run several minutes off the clock with a long drive.

Chaminade forced the Sea Kings to punt and took possession at the Corona del Mar 32 with just over five minutes remaining.

The Eagles scored on a 35-yard pass from Jeremy Mellalieu to Andrew Cordero.

Corona del Mar was called for holding on the ensuing kickoff and had to start its drive on the 10.

On third-and-11, Elijah Williams intercepted Di Napoli’s pass and ran it in for a 15-yard touchdown, giving the Eagles their first lead of the game.

The Sea Kings got the ball back with three minutes, 42 seconds remaining and drove to the Chaminade 29, within field-goal range of Akerman, who had kicked one from 44 yards in the third quarter.

But on third-and-7, Hudson Manning delivered a blind-side hit on Di Napoli, forcing a fumble, which was recovered by Chaminade’s Thomas Rhoads.

From there, the Eagles ran out the clock.

“That is one that definitely got away from us,” Corona del Mar coach Kevin Hettig said. “We had problems with their front line all night. They’re physical up there. They are a very physical team.”

The only score in the first half came on a 2-yard touchdown run from Nolan Scott, capping an 80-yard drive for the Sea Kings.

The low score was attributable to sacks, interceptions, penalties and mistakes proving costly for both teams.

Annett was sacked three times, twice by Hudson Manning.

With less than a minute left in the half, Corona del Mar faced a third-and-4 from the Chaminade 16 when Annett was sacked by Manning for a 10-yard loss.

Corona del Mar missed a 41-yard field-goal attempt on the next play.

Annett was also intercepted earlier in the second quarter by Bryan Narcisse on a third-and-17 from the Chaminade 29.

Chaminade also fell victim to its own miscues.

On a third-and-goal from the 1, the center snap sailed past Mellalieu and rolled 35 yards before being recovered by the Sea Kings.

Troy Merriman, Max Brengel and Trejan Nixon recorded sacks for the Sea Kings.

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