One of the few things that went Garden Grove High School’s way Saturday was that it did not rain at Angel Stadium during the CIF championship football game despite the cloudy weather.
“It’s a memory they will never forget even if it didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to,” Coach Willy Puga stated somberly after the trophy presentation.
The resounding 35-10 loss to defending champion Corona Del Mar in front of about 7,000 fans ended the Argonauts’ season with an overall record of 11-3.
One of the few things that went Garden Grove High School’s way Saturday was that it did not rain at Angel Stadium during the CIF championship football game despite the cloudy weather.
“It’s a memory they will never forget even if it didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to,” Coach Willy Puga stated somberly after the trophy presentation.
The resounding 35-10 loss to defending champion Corona Del Mar in front of about 7,000 fans ended the Argonauts’ season with an overall record of 11-3.
It’s a game that will certainly be a motivating factor for next year’s squad as well as a stern lesson in game momentum.
From the outset the Sea Kings dominated, starting with a first play, 30-yard interception that resulted in a touchdown. Before Garden Grove players could get their bearings, they were looking at an early deficit.
Quarterback Angel Martinez and company would be shut down for the rest of the quarter, going scoreless while the Sea Kings went up 14-0.
With 6:18 left in the half, Garden Grove’s kicker, Gabe Carillo, hit a 24-yard field goal to bring the score to 14-3 (side note: this was the first time a team scored on Corona Del Mar during this playoff season).
Those would be the only points scored by the Argonauts until late in the fourth quarter. Despite gaining a little momentum by capitalizing on Corona Del Mar’s penalties, miscues by Garden Grove (which included a missed kick-off return that resulted in a safety) and failure to stop Sea Kings quarterback Cayman Carter contributed to a 23-3 deficit at half time.
Down by 20 points at the start of the third, Garden Grove valiantly tried to gain control over the game through a key fumble recovery, only to turn the ball back over to Corona Del Mar on the next play, subsequently causing the score to go to 25-3 as a result of the safety.
Mercifully, this would be all the Sea Kings would score in the third quarter. The fourth, however, saw back-to-back scoring drives, a 1-yard run by Carter and 43-yard-long field goal by Griffith Amies that would drive up the score to 35-3 with limited time left for Garden Grove to try and mount a miraculous comeback.
With 6:53 left in the game, the Argonauts scored their only touchdown of the game via a 9-yard pass to senior Josh Huff to bring the final score to 35-10.
Despite staying healthy this season and managing to earn their way back to the championship game after a early-round elimination last season, the Argonauts failed to bring back the glory of the 2010 championship season.
Senior running back CJ Del Real (averaging about 80 yards a game) was held to 67 yards. Quarterback Angel Martinez had 15 completions for an above-average 173 yards, but was intercepted three times.
Garden Grove High has 13 graduating seniors, most notably Del Real, with the rest of the squad returning next year hungry for another chance at victory.
“We believe we are a high caliber team. We are not just satisfied to get to the championship game,” Coach Puga said.
With most of the team consisting of rookies in their sophomore years, and returning juniors, the Argonauts have a chance to return to the CIF championship stage despite the loss of graduating seniors.
Coach Puga hopes a strenuous off-season will hoist the team to the next level.
“You haven’t heard the last of Garden Grove,” he said.
