YORBA LINDA — The Esperanza football team reached the CIF-SS playoffs this season for the first time since its championship run in 2019.
But it turned into a short-lived postseason trip for the Aztecs.
They who fell behind early before rallying and were unable to get past Riverside Poly, which won 27-12 on Thursday at Yorba Linda High in the first round of the Division 11 playoffs.
Esperanza (5-6) trailed 10-0 at halftime and fell behind 17-0 after a costly fumble early in the third quarter was cashed in for a touchdown a few plays later by Poly running back Jshaun Thomas.
Riverside Poly coach Jarron Gilbert believed that sequence changed the dynamic of the game.
“That was huge,” said Gilbert, whose team improved to 5-6. “We said we had to come out and get seven to start the half and we weren’t able to do that but getting the ball back right after that gave us that 17-point cushion.”
Esperanza coach JP Presley also felt that play turned the tide of the contest.
“You can’t make mistakes against well-coached teams,” Presley said. “They were hungry, they played hard and they capitalized on mistakes. You can’t make mistakes in the playoffs.”
Gilbert, who earned his first playoff win as the Bears head coach, praised Thomas for his impact on the game after he finished with 136 yards and a touchdown.
“He brings a lot of physicality,” Gilbert said. “So even if he has lower numbers, it doesn’t reflect how he changes the game with his physicality on the field, and what he imposes on the other team. This night he was able to get over a 100 (yards) and we hope we get to ride this thing through.”
Esperanza got on the scoreboard with a 1-yard run by Aaron Forsgren with 3:01 left in the third to make it 17-6.
The Bears added a field goal by Talan Samosky to make it 20-6, his second successful kick of the night.
Aztecs quarterback Noah Puertas led a drive downfield with his arm and legs and then found Edward Khutsishvili for a 12-yard TD pass with 3:52 left to make it 20-12 after a failed 2-point attempt.
Thomas broke free for a 48-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-3 but the play was called back due to a Bears penalty.
Poly had to punt to Esperanza but it forced a turnover on downs and regained possession.
Riverside Poly quarterback Victor Aguilar added a TD run with 37 seconds left in the game.
Aguilar also threw a touchdown pass to Matthew Padilla just before halftime.
Gilbert will now prepare his team to face Los Altos or Patriot in the second round next week. Gilbert coached at Patriot for one season.
Meanwhile, Presley took a moment to bid farewell to his senior class and to also look toward the future.
“The hardest part is letting my seniors go,” he said. “They put so much work into it, but part two is like, I’m excited about our progress. We don’t rate it on perfection, we rate it on progress and so, being in the playoffs after our second year is good.”
