6 hours Ago
PALOS VERDES ESTATES — As time wound down in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s CIF-Southern Section Division 5 quarterfinal clash between Palos Verdes and Mayfair, PV quarterback Ryan Rakowski made a statement. “It doesn’t get much better than this,” Rakowski said. His answer was two-fold.
PV played the program’s first CIF-SS playoff game – ever – on its home field, but it was the play of its defense that limited Mayfair to one touchdown and a pair of field goals on its way to a 27-13 victory. PV (7-5) will travel to Foothill for a semifinal next Friday. “Everyone was ready to play and we wanted to hit,” PV defensive back Nick Yakubik said.
“We knew we had to come out more physical. (Mayfair) is a good team.” Guiseppe Virzi pounced on a fumble on Mayfair’s opening drive, and the Monsoons’ offense stalled in the first half.
Mayfair settled for a pair of field goals on its four first-half drives. “As a defense, that’s just our identity. We’re going to hit you in the mouth,” Yakubik said.
“Not letting them score is a huge momentum shift for the offense and it puts less stress on them and lets them play more freely.” Andrew Habif’s 5-yard touchdown run capped Palos Verdes’ first scoring drive, but it was a pair of fourth-down plays on that drive that turned the tide. On fourth-and-2 from the PV 37, Rakowski and Morley Boyd connected for an 18-yard gain.
All signs pointed to PV’s offense walking away from the drive without any points, but a holding call on another fourth-and-2 extended the drive before Habif’s scoring run. “We had some missed opportunities on the first drive,” Rakowski said. PV’s opening drive resulted in a missed field goal attempt from 36 yards.
Mayfair (8-4) had a chance to tie the score on the ensuing drive, but Yakubik came up with a timely pass deflection in the end zone to force the Monsoons into a 26-yard field goal. “Our guys were flying around,” said PV coach Guy Gardner, whose team would typically have to play home playoff games on nearby neutral fields because of a lack of lights. “It was a good effort and a good game plan by coach (Kevin) Neal and his staff.
” Rakowski and the offense responded quickly. The Sea Kings needed just four plays, including the quarterback’s 40-yard touchdown pass to Ricky McCarthy, to open a 14-3 lead with 2:59 remaining in the first half. PV came out of the half looking to distance itself from Mayfair.
The Sea Kings drove 51 yards on nine plays, getting a boost from a 15-yard Monsoon personal foul, before Rakowksi’s 3-yard touchdown run gave PV a 21-6 lead. “We saw some things on film that we could attack. They were a straight man (coverage defense), taking away most of our deep routes,” Rakowski said.
“Quick passes were our focus. Getting the ball out on time, in space, and running the ball were huge.” Rakowski finished the game with 186 passing yards on 13-for-17 passing with two touchdowns, the second to Evan Aguirre extended the lead to 27-6 with 5:15 left.
Boyd led all PV receivers with 65 yards on seven catches. Before the game, Neal talked about the Mayfair weapons, primarily tailback Louis Johnson. PV limited Johnson to 52 yards, including a 10-yard fourth-quarter touchdown, on 14 carries.
“That kid (Johnson) is a dog,” PV’s Josh Williams said. “Gang tackling was the name of the game.” Williams was instrumental in helping PV’s defense continue to limit Mayfair in the second half.
Williams sacked Mayfair quarterback Jeremiah Calvin three times, two of those coming on consecutive plays to force the Monsoons into a fourth-down situation. Owen Wishner added another sack. Gardner praised the work ethic he saw throughout the week leading up to Friday.
“That’s a Monday-through-Thursday thing,” Gardner said. “You never know what exactly is going to happen Friday, but if you put in some good work it comes to fruition during the game.”.
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