Selma goes silent in second half, falling in SoCal Regional final. Here’s what happened
Selma High was shut out the entire second half with its top running back injured in falling 42-29 to Highland-Palmdale in the Southern California Regional Division 4-AA football final Friday night in Lancaster.
The Bears (11-3), who were seeking to advance to their first-ever California Interscholastic Federation state title game, were hit by big plays down the stretch, including a 75-yard touchdown pass and a 45-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter.
Highland (12-3) scored 28 unanswered points to end the game.
Selma’s offensive woes occurred after running back Zach Zarate suffered a lower-leg injury and was not able to play in the second half.
“It really hindered things in what we were able to call,” Selma coach Matt Logue said. “We already were playing offense without our original fullback (Adam Rodriguez).
“We still had our chances, but we hurt ourselves a few times. And like every game we’ve lost this year, we gave up some big, big plays.”
Selma entered the night averaging 38 points per game and appeared to be in rhythm while racking up four touchdowns in the first 19 minutes of play Friday at Antelope Valley College.
Despite giving up the first score of the game, Selma quickly answered with a 17-yard touchdown pass then a 1-yard run to end the first quarter up 15-8.
Highland came within a point after scoring on a 63-yard touchdown run.
But Selma answered with back-to-back touchdowns to move ahead 29-14 with 5:26 left in the first half.
Zarate then got hurt during the ensuing kickoff.
The Bears offense never recovered.
No points in the third quarter.
No points in the fourth.
It’s the second time in three years that Selma ended its season in the regional final, having also lost in 2016 (defeated by Bakersfield Christian 28-27).
But it was a remarkable season for a Bears team that never had a home game because the school’s Staley Stadium was undergoing renovation.
“To be honest, it hurts but it mostly hurts because we’re done playing and this is a great group of guys,” Logue said. “But our main goal was to win a Valley championship. We did that. Everything else was like playing with house money.
“We still had a great season.”
Bryant-Jon Anteola: 559-441-6362, @Banteola_TheBee
This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 11:25 PM.
