After four losses to Bay rival, West's senior class wins wild playoff shootout to advance to CIF-SS Northern Division semifinal at Atascadero.
Click photo to enlargeWest Torrance quarterback Joey Notch is pumped up after scoring a TD in a 49-42 win over Mira Costa.
At long last.
The West Torrance football team vanquished some personal demons against Bay League rival Mira Costa.
And the Warriors did it on a grand stage: the CIF Southern Section Northern Division quarterfinals.
Joey Notch accounted for five touchdowns, and host West unleashed years of frustration into a monumental 49-42 victory on Friday.
West players, coaches, cheerleaders and even some fans rushed the field after a rugged, back-and-forth battle against a league nemesis it had not beaten since 2006. West's senior class had gone 0-4 against Mira Costa.
"I don't know how to explain it," Notch said. "It's surreal right now. I was not going to be denied."
West (9-3) had lost to Mira Costa 62-42 during the regular season, but West tight end Mat Boesen had already marked a rematch on his schedule.
"After that loss, I put it on the Twitter," Boesen said. "I said `See you in the playoffs.' And we took it to them this time."
Notch delivered an epic performance.
Not only did Notch pass for 349 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions on 26-for-43 passing, he had six carries for 53 yards and three more touchdowns.
His capper was a spectacular 75-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter that gave West a 49-35
lead with 5:04 left in the game.It came on a big assist from Boesen, who delivered a vicious hit on Mira Costa quarterback Ryan Sweigart as he was attempting to pass to playmaker Raphael Lawson-Gayle.
Notch picked it off, scooted between defenders and burst his way into the end zone, much as he had done throughout the night on his scoring runs.
"I've had a lot of interceptions in my career, but I never ran one back before," Notch said. "I thought I was going to get caught from behind because they were trying to get it to (Raphael) Lawson-Gayle, so I turned on the burners."
Mira Costa (8-4) threw an interesting wrinkle at West by having 6-foot-1, 290-pound Cory Sanicky line up in the backfield with 6-foot-3, 300-pound lineman R.J. Coleman in goal-line situations.
They called it their Rhino package, one that Mira Costa coach Don Morrow put in three weeks ago.
Sanicky burst through the West defense for scoring runs of 2, 2 and 1. They were his only three carries of the season.
"Sleep - I have no energy to have any feelings right now. I left it all on the field," Sanicky said. "We only lost by a touchdown. I don't regret anything."
Mira Costa held leads of 7-0, 14-7 and 21-14, but could not slow down West.
Lawson-Gayle had 16 carries for 128 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
Sebastian Franck-Love added nine carries for 77 yards, including a 46-yard scoring run in the third quarter.
But Mira Costa was lacking the big plays it displayed in the first matchup with West.
"We fought," Morrow said. "But hats off to them. They played hard and they executed their deal, just like the first time. Tonight, we just couldn't outscore them. But I'm proud of our guys. They fought and fought."
It was like a gun-slinger's battle, particularly in the first half as the teams traded scores.
But West had a momentum shift when Dane Silverlake tipped a pass into the air and J.J. Allen snatched it and ran it back 20 yards for a touchdown.
Allen's interception return gave West a 21-14 lead, and the Warriors did not trail the rest of the night.
"I just saw it, got it and ran for my life," Allen said. "We knew we had it tonight. We just had to stop their dive, and we did that."
West running back Barry Thomas had 30 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown.
"This was a big deal tonight," Thomas said.
Boesen had seven catches for 166 yards and a touchdown, making crazy catches, including one that inadvertently wrapped around his back.
Silverlake had eight catches for 85 yards.
Eric Hong capped the night with an interception with about two minutes left to start the celebration.
"I was visualizing it at practice and how it would happen," Hong said. "I can't even think of words right now. "This is my first year starting varsity, and to get that interception was ... amazing."
West advances to play at Atascadero, a 30-14 winner over Canyon/Canyon Country. And the Warriors are excited about their first semifinal since 2006.
"Four-hour bus ride? Let's go," Notch said.
tony.ciniglio@dailybreeze.com
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