Smudge Pot 1976

Rajahs Crushed By San Dimas In CIF

By Bob TROSTLER

In the CIF AA opening round playoff game between Indio and San Dimas at Bonita District Stadium the Saints rolled to a crushing 55-13 win, a dismal end to an otherwise stellar Rajah season. The game was all San Dimas, which came in ranked fourth with an 8-1 record and the Hacienda League title, as the Saints exploded for 472 yards rushing with their veer attack, including touchdown bursts of 46 and 72 yards, San Dimas will advance into the second round next week with a game against Northview which beat San Clemente 15-13, Friday night. By the way Coach Bob Baiz’s Saints performed Friday night, Northview is to be pitied. Sonny La Fargue set a club record with seven extra points and the home club scored touchdowns on its first five possessions to clinch the game by the half. But surprisingly at first, it appeared Indio, behind the running and passing of Nagata, would be able to stay with the bigger, more powerful foe. After Bobby Pleasant, who led the Saints’ ground assault with 209 yards in 19 carries, exploded for a 46yard TD run on the second

San Dimas scrimmage play, the Rajahs came back on a well-executed 87 -yard drive kept alive by a roughing the kicker penalty. Nagata set it up with a 25-yard pass to Tony Pedrosa, and tailback Rennie Romero got the final eight on an end run. The Saints came right back on an 11-play, 71-yard scoring effort climaxed by Pleasant’s 4-yard burst up the middle.

With Baiz’s ground-oriented offense using up large portions of the clock, Indio was forced to strike quickly but could not set up an effective counter attack due to the hard charging San Dimas defenders who penetrated almost at will to force Nagata out of the pocket. Although the Indio quarterback is used to scrambling, the Saints’ defense also showed surprising quickness in its pursuit and was able to drop the quarterback for losses, many occurring on third down. So the Rajahs punted, and San Dimas would gain possession and march goalward. The fifth touchdown of the first half was the crusher. Rajah end Jack Wilson fumbled on his own 11, and it appeared Arts ran 11 yards on the next play for the score. But a Saint player was cited for clipping and the ball was brought back to the 24. With time running out, Indio now had a chance to hold. But the defenders went for a fake to Pleasant, and quarterback Ed Hargett skirted around the left end for 19 easy yards as no one touched him until he was stopped at the four. Pleasant then scored again, and hopes for a comeback were dashed. To the Rajahs’ credit, they did not give up and came back to score in the third quarter on Nagata’s one-yard dive. Seventeen and 22-yard passes to Willis highlighted the 11-play, 86 yard march that cut the margin to 35-13. Indio Coach Ed Peasley, who led the Rajahs to the playoffs in his first year at the helm, praised Nagata and Willis for their outstanding play, but said his team’s ill-preparedness led to the lopsided margin. “I just wish they could have been a little more ready to play,” he remarked of his players while walking hurriedly to the bus that would take him and his team home. “Nagata and Willis fought the whole way, but you have to give San Dimas credit. They showed a lot of speed and are a very good football team. They are very comparable to Coachella Valley.” CV beat Indio, 29-13, last week. Peasley said his team’s early downfall was “an emotional thing,” and the Rajahs may have made the score closer but probably could not have won this day considering the Saints’ performance. “The turnovers killed us, too,” he admitted. “You can’t make as many mistakes as we made against a good football team and expect to win.” The coach was referring to Indio’s four lost fumbles, three of which led to scores including two in the fourth period that help pad the advantage.