By Bodie DeSilva
FOR THE UNION TRIBUNE
CARMEL VALLEY – La Costa Canyon High School running back Coby Herman left last week’s win over Carlsbad with an ankle injury in the second half and later appeared on the sidelines on crutches.
Fast forward to Friday’s regular-season finale against Torrey Pines High School, Herman showed no signs of slowing down. The standout junior running back scored two rushing touchdowns, leading the Mavericks to a 28-0 win over the Falcons in the annual Beach Bowl.
“They’re bought in, these kids love each other,” LCC coach Sean Sovacool said.
“They don’t care who gets the credit and they’ve been this way.”
The Mavericks (10-0, 5-0), ranked No. 2 in the county, wrapped up their first unbeaten regular season since 2009 in dominating fashion.
Torrey Pines (4-6, 2-3) won last season’s matchup 27-17 and had taken three of the last four in the rivalry before getting shut out on Friday.
La Costa Canyon’s win marked the 12th straight time in the series that the road team has come out on top.
“It’s a home game but it’s a neutral site,” Sovacool said while pointing to the visiting stands full of Maverick fans wearing white.
The Mavericks dominated the first half, holding Torrey Pines to 41 total yards but were only able to score one of their five drives with the Falcons intercepting quarterback Quinn Roth twice in the second quarter.
La Costa Canyon went 55 yards on their opening drive of the second half before a fake field goal attempt was stuffed by the Falcons.
Torrey Pines then fumbled the snap, giving La Costa Canyon the ball inside the 10-yard line. Herman proceeded to go up the middle for his second score of the night to make it 14-0.
“I felt (the ankle) a little bit, but it’s more important for the team to tough through it,” Herman said.
He finished his night with 94 rushing yards and reeled in three receptions, totaling 64 yards before receiving high praise from his head coach.
“Coby Herman is the best high school football player I’ve coached, and I’ve had guys that have been in the NFL,” Sovacool said. “The dude’s a dude and he was hurt.”
The Falcons put together their best drive of the night midway through the third quarter and pushed deep into La Costa Canyon territory late in the third quarter before getting stuffed on a 4th down attempt from the 29-yard line.
Quinn Roth and the Mavericks then went to the air, finishing a 70-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Nathan Viemeister to take a commanding 21-0 lead.
La Costa Canyon’s defense continued to rise to the occasion in the fourth quarter, forcing another turnover on downs and an interception from linebacker Ryan Scully, who also had two sacks on the night.
The Mavericks closed the door with a five-minute drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run from Ciaran Buechs to make it 28-0 with 90 seconds left to play.
As of Friday, La Costa Canyon held the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Open Division playoffs and will likely stay there when brackets are announced on Sunday. Torrey Pines is headed to the Division 1 bracket and will host a first-round game next Friday.
La Costa Canyon 28, Torrey Pines 0
Torrey Pines 0 0 0 0 0
La Costa Canyon 0 7 7 14 28
LCC – Herman 6 run (Stringfellow kick)
LCC- Herman 4 run (Stringfellow kick)
LCC Viemeister 9 pass from Roth (Stringfellow kick)
LCC- Buechs 1 run (Stringfellow kick)