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Portola football sparked by big plays, defense in win over Baldwin Park in Division 11 semifinals – Whittier Daily News

IRVINE — The play could have gone the other way. Fourth down. Three yards to go. Thirty-nine-yard line. Portola quarterback Nash Luper throws a duck of a pass on a tight end screen. The floater looks like it’s going to be intercepted for a pick six.

It’s not.

Intended receiver Anthony Riccardi snags it out of the air behind the defender and takes it 26 yards to the 13. It’s his only catch. Three plays later, Portola is in the end zone with a lead over Baldwin Park en route to a 30-14 victory in the CIF-Southern Section Division 11 semifinals at Portola High.

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“Our guy missed the ball,” Baldwin Park coach Robert Maxie said, though he wasn’t blaming his player. “That’s a swing in the score right there. We have a touchdown – and then we don’t have a touchdown – and then we give up a touchdown.”

A 7-3 lead could have been 14-3 and the Braves would have been rolling. Instead, Portola ended up with a 10-7 lead that it took into halftime, and then came the defensive onslaught that proved too much for Baldwin Park to overcome.

“One hundred percent, it was the biggest play of the game,” Portola coach Peter Abe said. “Hundred percent, hundred percent, hundred percent.”

Portola will play host to El Rancho of Pico Rivera next week for the Division 11 title. El Rancho defeated San Gorgonio, 28-21, in the other semifinal.

With its victory, Portola will get a chance to complete an improbable run. The Bulldogs lost their first five games, but have a chance to win a championship.

Some football teams can’t be judged by their record.

“We were the most dangerous 0-5 team around,” Abe told his players afterward, acknowledging the result of playing programs that had a combined 42-17 record. Portola has won seven of its last eight.

The Bulldogs have done it with big plays. They’ve done it with blue collar defense. And they did it all against Baldwin Park, which was formidable. The Braves finished third in the tough Valle View League and had won seven out of their last nine games.

Portola (8-6) has playoff victories over top-seeded Don Lugo of Chino in the first round, and fourth-seeded Baldwin Hills in the semifinals. And the team that is focused on its “Bulldog pedigree” just leveled up its credibility and legitimacy.

“The preseason got us ready for this,” Abe said. “It’s an honor to represent our community, this program, and the legacy that’s been built. I’m really proud of our senior class because they’ve been through some stuff. … This has been quite the freakin’ ride.”

Baldwin Park quarterback Jake Garcia was superb on the opening drive. His scrambling and elusiveness looked like it would be a problem for Portola as he kept drives alive in improbable situations. But by the end, he had fumbled once, been intercepted twice, and sacked three times. He completed 9 of 21 passes for 120 yards as Portola’s defense increasingly rose to the occasion.

Portola’s Adam Nofal anchored the defensive effort. He had three sacks and stripped the ball from the quarterback for a fumble that resulted in the final touchdown.

“This means everything,” Nofal said of the result and his effort, which helped him set a school record for most sacks in a season. “I’m a big contributor to the defense so I feel a sense of obligation to make those big-time plays for my team to help us win, and I think it definitely showed tonight. This was one of the most intense, most demanding games for me.”

Said Maxie: “He gave us hell at the end. He was MVP tonight. He wreaked havoc all night, for sure.”

Baldwin Park’s Mark Carbajal rushed 14 times for 65 yards and two scores of 5 yards apiece. The second came in the third quarter and completed a 5-yard drive that gave the Braves a 14-10 lead. It was the first play after Luper’s pass was intercepted by Aldo Hernandez and returned 32 yards.

With a lunch pail mentality, Luper shook it off. Three plays later, he aired out a 67-yard bomb to Malachi Moore for a 17-14 lead. Baldwin Park’s momentum was dust. They didn’t know it at the time, but it was about to get much worse.

Luper finished 6 of 12 passing for 131 yards, an interception, and two touchdowns.

The next series ended with Nofal’s strip sack, an 18-yard loss that Riccardi recovered at the Baldwin Park 22. Portola’s Ishaan Kedia kicked his second field goal, 41 yards, for a 20-14 lead.

The next series was four and out, and Kedia added a 32-yard field goal to go with the 21-yarder he had on Portola’s first drive of the game.

The next Baldwin Park drive ended in three plays with Kaden Cross’ brilliant interception, apparently stealing the ball from receiver Randle Tebo as they fell to the ground.

Portola running back Diego Reyna made Baldwin Park pay for that by scoring from 5 yards. Reyna carried 14 times for 123 yards.

Portola stopped the next drive on four downs, and the next one ended with Jamal Abdelkarim’s interception on a long desperation pass in the closing seconds.

Abdelkarim also scored Portola’s first touchdown, on a 7-yard toss from Luper that completed the drive that was highlighted by the pivotal tight end screen.

“Our goal was to contain their quarterback, stop the run, control the ball,” Abe said. “Our defense played great and made some huge stops in the second half. It gave us the opportunity to control the ball.

“Athletes all over the field, came up with big stops when we needed them, forced them to turn the ball over, hold on to the rock, and move the sticks. It was good.”

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