Arcadia Crushes Alta Loma, Punches Ticket to Championship Game
By Aaron Valdez
With a huge 62-27 win over Alta Loma in the CIF Division 8 Semifinals on Friday, Arcadia football has finally gotten over the hump and earned themselves a trip to a championship game for the first time in 40 years.
As good as the Apaches have been throughout the entire season, they only seem to be getting better and better. Their magisterial performance against the Braves certainly signals that the Apaches are peaking at just the right time.
Coming into the game, Alta Loma riding wins over Royal and Katella in the first and second round, respectively. However, it did not have the same success in league play as the Braves sported a 2-3 record, which was good enough for only fourth place in the Palomares standings.
Arcadia, on the other hand, had not lost since Aug. 31 and was the outright champ of the Pacific League at 7-0.
In the semifinal against the Braves, it was all Arcadia as it quickly took a 14-0 first-quarter lead that was sparked by a blazing 58-yard touchdown run from Demarco Moorer. The senior running back’s play this postseason has paid huge dividends for Arcadia’s high-octane offense, finishing Friday’s game with 11 carries for 85 yards.
Arcadia’s best quarter came in the second, scoring 24 unanswered points as Alta Loma already seemed down for the count by then. The Apaches’ trusty and explosive Rolandiss Whitener got going in the second after completing a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Coming out the half, Arcadia outscored Alta Loma in both the third and fourth quarters as it cruised to its most significant victory in decades.
Arcadia will host Kaiser (12-1) in the CIF-SS Division 8 Championship game on Friday at 7 p.m. The Apaches will surely appreciate finally being able to play in front of their home crowd as all three of their playoff games have been on the road.