Lancaster on road for regional playoff game

Eagles fall short in CIF Southern Regional game

SAN DIEGO — The magical season for the Lancaster football team came to an end on Friday night.

Lancaster lost to Classical Academy 34-14 at Del Norte High in the CIF Southern Regional Division 6AA championship.

The Eagles finish the season with a 9-6 record and the first CIF championship in program history.

Classical Academy (11-3) had a dominating start to the game and Lancaster never recovered.

The Caimans jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the second quarter.

The Lancaster offense struggled to move the ball for most of the night, as senior quarterback Cedric SaMarion was under constant pressure.

SaMarion suffered an upper body injury with six minutes and 18 seconds remaining in the game and was attended to by paramedics during a lengthy injury timeout.

SaMarion completed 12-of28 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns, but was intercepted twice and sacked six times.

Classical Academy advances to the CIF State Division 6-AA Championship against Santa Teresa, which defeated Palo Alto 30-20 in the North Championship.

Lancaster cut the deficit to 20-14 on a 65-yard touchdown pass by SaMarion to junior wide receiver Chowlyn Hughes in the third quarter, but that would be as close as the Eagles would get.

Classical Academy was able to immediately respond, as senior Life Pollard returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, giving the Caimans a 27-14 lead.

The following Lancaster possession was smothered by the Classical Academy defense,

which sacked SaMarion on three straight plays.

Although Lancaster was able to force Classical Academy to punt on the following drive, it was a 67-yard punt that pinned Lancaster at the 14-yard line in its own territory with 11 minutes remaining.

SaMarion threw an incomplete pass on fourth down and 14 yards, as Pollard batted down the pass on defense.

Classical Academy took over at the 10-yard line and three plays later senior Thomas Hinrichs scored on a 5-yard run, giving the Caimans a 3414 lead.

Classical Academy senior Chase Mizel intercepted a pass on the ensuing Lancaster possession. SaMarion was injured on the play.

The Caimans were able to run out the clock on the final drive.

Lancaster finished with 239 yards in total offense, compared to 228 yards for Classical Academy.

The Caimans had six players combine for 34 carries and a total of 190 yards rushing.

Pollard finished with 87 yards rushing on 13 carries.

Classical senior quarterback Luke Sega completed 4-of-10 passes for 38 yards, as the Caimans only threw two times in the second half.

Classical Academy dominated the first half, stifling Lancaster on the opening possession of the game and scoring on the Caimans’ first drive.

Classical Academy scored on its first two possessions of the game and then scored on defense on the Eagles’ third drive.

The Caimans capped their first drive with a 39-yard field goal by senior Trevor Allen.

Pollard scored on a 27-yard run with three seconds remaining in the first quarter to cap a 13-play, 64-yard drive and give the Caimans a 10-0 lead.

It got worse for the Eagles early in the second quarter, as Pollard intercepted a Lancaster pass, that was tipped by an Eagles’ wide receiver, and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown and a 17-0 Classical Academy lead.

Lancaster was finally able to capitalize on its fifth possession of the game.

SaMarion threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Hughes with under a minute remaining, capping an 11-play, 90yard, four minute drive.

Hughes was wide open in the far side of the end zone and the officials conferred to determine if he caught the pass inbounds. They ruled it a touchdown, cutting the Classical Academy lead to 17-6.

Classical Academy outgained Lancaster in total yards in the first half, 143-126.

Lancaster qualified for the State playoffs for the first time in program history by winning its first CIF championship.

The Eagles defeated Valley Christian 44-42 in the CIF-Southern Section Division 12 championship game at Lancaster High on Nov. 26.

Lancaster matched the school record for wins in a season with the title.

The Eagles were making their first playoff appearance since 2007 and won their first playoff game since 2006.

Lancaster finished in a three-way tie for second place in the Golden League this season and was able to claim the final guaranteed playoff berth thanks to a coin flip.

Classical Academy won the CIF San Diego Division V championship, beating Crawford 33-14.

The Caimans finished third in the Pacific League, going 1-2 in the four-team league.

Classical Academy avenged a 16-8 loss to Pacific League champion Escondido Charter in the regular season-finale with a 28-14 victory in the semifinals of the playoffs.