Central Conference : Los Amigos Starts Slow, Loses Fast : Valencia Builds 22-0 Lead, Holds On for 29-12 Victory

After its first three possessions against Friday night against Valencia in the opening round of the Central Conference playoffs, Los Amigos High looked more like Lost Amigos High.

Los Amigos eventually lost, 29-12. And some of the Lobo lowlights went like this:

--Lobo quarterback Andrew Baturevich threw his first of four interceptions on the third play of the game. Valencia took advantage, scoring on Dorian Estes’ one-yard run four plays later.

--Baturevich completed a pass to James McGee on Los Amigos’ second possession. But McGee fumbled, and Valencia’s Nacho Garcia recovered.

--Michael Eicherly fumbled on the Lobos’ next series to complete the trio of miscues and mishaps. After that, Estes scored again, this time on a two-yard run. Estes ran for the two-point conversion to make it 15-0.

Going for two points at this time might have seemed cruel. But Valencia Coach Mike Marrujo most have known something.

Somehow, Los Amigos made a game of it, cutting the deficit to 22-12 before eventually losing at Placentia’s Bradford Stadium before an estimated 1,500 spectators.

“They played all right,” Marrujo said. “You have to give them credit. They stayed tough against us the whole game. We bent, but we never broke.”

Los Amigos (6-5) entered the game as the longshot. Top-seeded Valencia suffered just one loss to Troy and a tie against Westminster in the first game of its 11-game season.

Just when it seemed the Lobos were on their way to a nightmarish finale, they started to come back from a 22-0 second-quarter deficit.

After failing to get a first down in the first quarter, Los Amigos started to gain confidence when Baturevich threw passes of 28 and 32 yards to move the Lobos to Valencia’s eight-yard line. Four plays later, Baturevich scored on a one-yard run.

That cut it to 22-6. Then with 8:39 remaining, Los Amigos made it uncomfortable for the Tigers. Lito Soifua’s nine-yard scoring run pulled the Lobos to 22-12.

But then Los Amigos lost the game the same way it had in its early blundering. Another Lobo turnover on their next possession--a Baturevich fumble--helped set up Valencia’s final touchdown. Keef Leasure scored on his second touchdown, a seven-yard run, and it was 29-12.

Leasure finished with 68 yards in 15 carries. Estes led the Tigers with 164 yards in 25 carries and 2 touchdowns.

“I expect resistance from every team,” Marrujo said. “I really did think we were a couple of touchdowns better than them and it turned out that way.”

Valencia will not get a chance to avenge its only loss of the season, however. Artesia knocked out Troy, 34-13.