WOODLAND HILLS - The look on Vai Taua's face told much of the story of Cabrillo High's football team after Friday night's CIF Southern Section Division X semifinal against Crespi - a look that showed the Conquistadores had played hard and tough and still fell short.

The Conqs suffered a 54-39 loss to the top-ranked Celts at Pierce College thanks in part to the nearly 700 yards of total offense they gave up, but stayed in the game for much of the night due to brilliant individual efforts by offensive stars Vai Taua and C.J. Simmons.

The victory pushes the Celts into next weekend's finals against either Lompoc or St. Joseph, with the site to be determined by the winner of tonight's other Division X semifinal. St. Joseph hosts Lompoc at Arroyo Grande High at 7:30 p.m.

“It was a tough way to finish, but we know we had a good season,” said Taua, who rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns and added another 232 yards on kickoff returns.

It was a game marked by big plays: the teams combined for 22 plays of 15 yards or more, with the Celts (10-3) totaling nine of them, including nine of 36 yards or more. Thanks to the big chunks of yardage, Crespi managed 679 yards of total offense, including 311 passing yards by quarterback Matt Wabby and a 340-yard night by tailback Justin Morgan.

“We really came to play tonight,” Wabby said. “Our offense has been struggling the last few weeks, so to put up numbers like that is wonderful.”

The Conquistadores took a 39-33 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Celts took the game in hand with a big final quarter, outscoring the Conqs 21-0 over the final 12 minutes of action. All three scores came on big plays, a 41-yard pass from Wabby to D.J. Holt and Morgan scoring runs of 59 and 24 yards.

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“Our offensive line set the tone for the night,” Wabby said. “We determined going into the game that the offensive line needed to dominate things if we were going to win.”

That offense jumped out to a 22-0 lead in the first 15 1/2 minutes of the game, with Morgan totaling 128 rushing yards by the end of the first quarter. In that stretch, the Celts’ tailback broke runs of 23, 46 and 36 yards, scoring on the 23-yarder two minutes after kickoff and scampering in from 36 early in the second quarter.

But the Conquistadores (10-3), or more precisely Taua, had an answer after the second Morgan score. Taking the kickoff, Taua busted up the middle for a 96-yard score, getting the Conqs on the board and giving them much-needed momentum to get back into the fight.

“That meant a lot to us, having Vai do things like that,” Simmons said. “It gave us a big boost.”

That momentum mattered to the game, for Cabrillo held Crespi to its first punt of the night midway through the second quarter. Six Conqs running plays later, Taua was in the end zone after an electrifying 49-yard run, closing the gap (after the missed PAT kick) to 22-13.

Crespi tried to extend its lead on its next drive, but kicker Brandon Ibarra pushed a 48-yard field goal wide to the right, giving the Conqs the ball with two minutes left.

They took advantage with a 10-play drive led largely by Taua and Simmons, who rushed for 127 yards in the loss. However, it was Simmons’ first completion of the night that ended the drive with a score, coming when Troy Deleissegues hauled in a pass in the back corner of the end zone with four seconds left, cutting Crespi's halftime lead to 22-20.

“We weren't intimidated by Crespi or by the situation,” Cabrillo coach Don Cross said. “We told the kids that (Crespi) is just a high-school football team. We showed that they can be beat. Whoever wins tomorrow night, I hope they get (Crespi).”

Crespi used an onside kick at the outset of the third quarter to recover the ball, ending with a 32-yard Ibarra field goal. Cabrillo came right back when Taua returned the ensuing kickoff 60 yards to the Crespi 31. Five plays later, Simmons took an option sweep in from eight yards out to give the Conqs their first lead, 26-25.

However, it didn't last long, as a 67-yard Morgan run set up Waddy's second touchdown pass of the night, a 13-yard screen to Holt that saw the junior receiver break four tackles en route to the end zone.

“Missed tackles hurt us all night,” Simmons said.

Cabrillo answered right back, thanks to a Crespi personal foul on the next kickoff. That gave the Conqs the ball at the Celts’ 43, and they capitalized as Simmons capped a five-play drive with another sweep for a score, tying the score at 33. A fumbled punt two drives later gave Cabrillo the ball on Crespi's 12, setting up a one-yard Taua score that gave the Conqs a 39-33 lead.

Deleissegues had three catches for 76 yards for Cabrillo, while Holt had six catches for 127 yards and Cary Jensen-Madison had five receptions for 148 yards.

Assistant Sports Editor Mike McKean can be reached at 739-2236 or by e-mail at mmckean@santamariatimes.com

December 03, 2005