Sierra Canyon beats Le Grand 34-13 in CIF Division IV Bowl Game

CARSON, Calif. -- Once Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) figured out how to defeat the Home Depot Center and the feeling of playing in a state title game, it defeated Le Grand (Calif.).

The Trailblazers (15-0) pounced on the Bulldogs (12-1) after the halftime break Friday at the Home Depot Center and turned a punch-for-punch heavyweight fight into a drubbing to take the Division IV state title, 34-13.

A 13-7 Le Grand lead in the second quarter had the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V champions riding high, but the Southern Section East Valley Division champs ruined their fun, running off 27 unanswered points for the win.

“We were letting the atmosphere beat us, being in the Home Depot Center and state championship game. We weren’t executing well,” Sierra Canyon coach Jon Ellinghouse said. “We relaxed at halftime and the kids went out and had fun.”

Xavier Menifield had the most fun of all. The Sierra Canyon junior was the most spectacular player on the field, scoring three touchdowns and racking up 129 yards on 18 carries. The speedster also reeled in two catches for 36 yards.

The end result was a whitewash, though the first half was anything but. Sierra Canyon took the opening drive 80 yards on 10 plays, capped off by a 13-yard Tyler Stewart to Reggie Prince touchdown pass that was the result of Prince settling in a hole in the zone defense. Then Le Grand responded with a pair of first-quarter touchdown drives capped off by Dustin Slate (7 yards) and Julian Nava (5 yards), respectively.

“I gotta say that staggered us a little bit,” Ellinghouse said. “We haven’t had anybody do that to us and it shows our kids’ character because they did respond.”

The momentum shifted in the second quarter as Le Grand was driving deep into Sierra Canyon territory. Brian Tucker picked off an Alex Bucio pass at the 10-yard line to prevent the Bulldogs from extending their lead, and seven plays later, Menifield blasted up through the middle from a shotgun spot and left everyone in his dust on the way to a 41-yard touchdown.

Relaxing at halftime must have worked wonders, because Sierra Canyon found another gear right from the beginning of the half. Prince intercepted Bucio on the first play of the second half and Danny Jordan punched it in from 7 yards out four plays later, going right up the middle for a touchdown. That play put the Trailblazers in the driver’s seat, Menifield said.

“After ‘DJ’ scored that first touchdown of the second half, that's when it was a wrap,” he said. “You could see on their sideline, the enthusiasm just shifted.”

Le Grand’s offense could only muster one first down in the third quarter and 12 net yards. The defeat stung the large contingent of small-town fans who made the trip down from the Merced area, but the mood was still one of accomplishment after the game.

“We are little old Le Grand, a little public school that has nothing to be ashamed of. We represented well,” coach Rick Martinez said. “Tomorrow I can’t hang my head about anything. It’s a great group of kids that has nothing to be ashamed of.

“The first half was a big slugfest. In the second half they came out swinging and we didn’t swing back. Momentum is a crazy thing. Once it swung their way we couldn’t stop it.”

Menifield scored on a fly sweep from 2 yards out to make it 27-13 and then put on the exclamation point with a 7-yard TD off tackle with 1:35 left in the third quarter. In addition to his efforts, Jordan rushed 11 times for 70 yards, Stewart was 13-for-25 for 163 yards with an interception and Preston White led the team with five catches for 63 yards. Tucker led the team with 11 tackles and Jesse Janes had 10.

Trailblazers lineman Andrew Terry said the halftime strategy of relaxation was all it took to get his team on the path to victory.

“First half we played real tight. We weren’t playing like ourselves, everybody was real tense,” the 6-foot-5, 265-pound lineman said. “We took it easy in the locker room, took a second to relax and then played our game in the second half.  We were partying on the sideline and we thrive on that.”

Le Grand was led by running back Daniel Guizar with 14 rushes for 68 yards. Bucio was 13-for-19 for 116 yards but his two interceptions came at critical times. Zachary Moreno caught six passes for 53 yards. On defense, Aaron Salcido, Nava and Slate each had nine tackles.

“I can obviously think back and say I could have done better. But I am not ashamed about the way things turned out,” Bucio said. “Little Le Grand coming to the bowl game is a big accomplishment. I’m just gonna cherish this game.”

And Sierra Canyon will cherish its state title, just another step in what has been a lightning-fast ascent into the realms of the nation's top small schools. In the third year of 11-man football (fifth year of football), Ellinghouse has his program at the pinnacle. And now he hopes it’s a yearly tradition.

“It has happened fast but I can’t say I am surprised. I was very fortunate to have a lot of things fall in place. I couldn’t be prouder of this program. It’s a neat thing because we’ve created an expectation and I love it. We want our kids to expect to be here.”

SIERRA CANYON 34, LE GRAND 13
SC     7     7     20     0     - 34 
LG     13    0     0      0     - 13

First quarter
SC - Prince 13 pass from Stewart (Zgrablich kick)  9:29
LG - Slate 7 run (kick failed) 6:05
LG - Nava 5 run (Rosas kick)

Second quarter
SC - Menifield 41 run (Zgrablich kick) 4:11

Third quarter
SC - Jordan 7 run (Zgrablich kick) 10:12
SC - Menifield 2 run (Zgrablich kick) 5:03
SC - Menifield 7 run (Zgrablich kick) 1:35

PASSING - SC: Stewart 13-25-163-1-1. LG: Bucio 13-19-116-0-2.
RUSHING - SC: Menifield 18-129, Jordan 11-70, William Young 1-33, Stewart 7-11, Prince 1-7, Team 2-(minus 4). LG: Guizar 14-68, Salcido 2-17, Slate 3-8, Nava 3-5, Bucio 6-4.
RECEIVING - SC: White 5-63, Menifield 2-36, Tucker 3-35, Prince 2-22, Jacob Little 1-7. LG: Moreno 6-53, Salcido 3-43, Nava 3-18, Guizar 1-2.