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EL SEGUNDO HERALD January 11, 2018 Page 5
Rams Fold Under Playoff Pressure
By Adam Serrao
Coming into last Saturday night’S Wild Card
NFL playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons
at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the
Los Angeles Rams had everything going in
their favor. Thirty-one-year-old rookie head
coach Sean McVay was on the sidelines,
second-year quarterback Jared Goff was
under center and running back Todd Gurley
had just completed an MVP-like season.
What the Rams didn’t have, though, was
experience. A 26-13 loss to last year’s Super
Bowl runner-ups proved to be too much for a
young Los Angeles team to handle. In what
was perhaps the worst first-round matchup
that the team could have possibly been faced
with, the Rams wound up tumbling out of
the playoffs almost before they had a chance
to even begin at all.
Fans showed up in droves last Saturday
night to pack the Coliseum for what was
the first Rams playoff game at that location
in 39 years. Dallas wound up blowing out
the Rams 28-0 in that game. Although last
week’s matchup wasn’t quite as lopsided,
fans were forced to commute home with
the same distinct feeling of loss that they
felt almost four decades ago.
A crowd full of 74,300 people in the heart
of Los Angeles – the biggest crowd all season
long – was rendered silent throughout the first
quarter of play as Gurley, Goff and the rest
of the Rams continuously came up short on
drives and eventually fell behind by a score of
13-0 in the second quarter. “They made one
more play than we did,” Rams defensive tackle
Aaron Donald said after the game. “We were
trying to dig out of a hole, but we kept fighting.
We just kept fighting. But we fell short.”
One of the main reasons that the Rams
were forced to attempt to dig out of a hole
all game long was because of the play of Pro
Bowl special teams player Pharoh Cooper.
Cooper muffed a punt, bobbled a kickoff and
insisted on attempting to return the ball every
time he touched it. It seemed as if the Pro
Bowler-to-be was drastically close to coughing
up the ball every single time that he touched
it. “I’m sure he’d like to have a couple of
those plays back.” McVay explained. “Any
time you lose the turnover battle, you’re going
to make it very hard on yourself,”
The Rams’ only touchdown of the game
came in the second quarter of play when
Goff hit rookie wide receiver Cooper Kupp
in the back of the end zone. Los Angeles
went into halftime down by a score of 13-
10, which was the closest the Rams would
get all night. One of the main reasons that
the highest-scoring offense in the league this
season was unable to get off of the ground
was because of Atlanta’s amped-up defense.
That same defense sacked Goff twice in his
team’s first two possessions to set the tone.
They were also all over the wide receivers
in the secondary and found it rather easy to
bottle up Gurley, at least early on in the game.
Los Angeles was able to gain just 44 yards
in the first 24 minutes of play. They were
held to their first scoreless first quarter in
13 weeks of play. The Rams were also shut
out in the third quarter and only managed
one field goal in the fourth. “We wanted to
come out here and we didn’t want this to end
at all,” Goff solemnly explained postgame.
“We’ve got such a special group of dudes
in there, and coaches and everybody. It’s
such a special group, and you don’t want
it to end this early by any means. So it’s
tough right now.”
After an incredible resurgent year that
proved all who said he would be a rookie
bust wrong, Goff finished his first playoff
game ever by completing 24 of 45 passes
for 259 yards and one touchdown. Gurley,
on the other hand, may have seemed like
he was bottled up all night, but still managed
to finish the game with over 100 yards
rushing on just 14 carries. Though Robert
Woods enjoyed an incredible game, going
for 142 yards on nine catches, the normally
spectacular Rams offense was clearly not
itself due to the incredible defensive effort
brought to the table by the Falcons.
Despite this year’s early postseason exit,
any Rams fan would be lying if they told
you that they expected to be in playoff position
following the team’s 4-12 record of one
season ago. An explosive offense and an elite
defense turned those expectations around for
the Rams and their fans this year. Los Angeles
has now become a team that has improved
mightily and progressed drastically, all within
a one-year period. Not only did this year’s
Rams return to the postseason for the first time
since 2004, but they were also good enough
to host a playoff game in Southern California
for the first time since Jan. 4, 1986. Fans
can now expect all of that improvement and
progression built this season to keep moving
in the right direction for years to come.
– Aserrao6@yahoo.com •
Catching Up on Eagles Sports
By Gregg McMullin
As we begin a fresh new year, the El Segundo
Eagles finished up 2017 playing in tournaments
and preparing for their Ocean League
schedules. Both the boys and girls basketball
teams showed they are set to make a statement.
Boys Basketball
Continuing Their Success
El Segundo High School boys basketball won
its first tournament title in 12 years when Jacob
Franco helped lead his team to the Downey
Calvary Chapel Tournament championship in
the first week of December. The Eagles played
in the Linfield Christian Tournament at the
end of December and finished second in their
pool and third place overall. This was quite
an accomplishment for a team that had failed
to advance to the CIF playoffs a season ago
by playing four teams that will most likely
make the postseason.
The Linfield Christian Tournament had the
Eagles traveling to the Temecula Valley area.
Head coach David March wanted his team to
bond and give the players the experience of
being on the road. So he prepared an itinerary
that would give them a memory they can build
on for the remainder of the season and beyond.
“It was a great bonding experience for the
guys,” Marsh said. “We stayed in a hotel for
four days together as a group and ran everything
like a college team. We had daily film sessions,
team meetings and team meals together, team
workouts including yoga, pool exercises, running
stairs and in the weight room.”
The team also had time for some fun with
trips to the mall to see a movie and also to
the bowling alley. March added that the success
of the overall experience was because of
his assistant coaches Scott Martin and Bryce
Davis. “The entire trip was a success both
on and off the court because of Scotty and
Bryce,” Marsh said.
This defensively-minded team kept up its suffocating
style of play. In their first eight games
of the season, the Eagles had yet to give up 50
points in a game. Against Palmdale Academy,
El Segundo led from the start, forced turnovers
and easily defeated the Griffins 46-31. Miles
Jones, who led the team in scoring and was
named to the All-Tournament team, had 15
points and three rebounds while dishing out
five assists. Michael Lynch was dominant by
scoring 10 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
The Eagles’ only loss of the tournament
came to Heritage 57-54. Heritage is a big,
physical team that El Segundo could face
again in the postseason 4AA playoff should
they both advance. Jones had a game-high 20
points while Dylan Aubert poured in 18 points
and had 10 rebounds. El Segundo fell behind
in the first half and made its comeback effort
in the fourth quarter only to come up short.
The Eagles responded to their first loss in
the tournament by limiting host Linfield Christian
to a dismal 32 percent from the field and
defeating the Lions 48-32. Kyle Freeman led
the way with 13 points and four assists while
Aubert had eight points and five rebounds.
The Eagles finished up the tournament with an
easy 46-34 win over Riverside Carnegie. Jones
had 15 points while Robby Pedersen had eight
points, three blocks and three rebounds.
El Segundo just wrapped up the Huntington
Park Tournament schedule. This tournament
draws nearly 100 schools that play in various
divisions. The Eagles advanced to the championship
game of the Bronze Division, but
fell to Blair 40-38 at the buzzer.
El Segundo took care of three City Section
schools to start the tournament. The Eagles held
off a pesky Central City 55-51. Lynch had 18
points and nine rebounds, while Jones had 12
points and Aubert eight points. Then the Eagles
defeated Hamilton 52-36 in a game that wasn’t
that close. Lynch had his best scoring game
of the season with 24 points and also added
11 rebounds. Ryan Booker had 12 points, four
rebounds and two steals. Los Angeles High
gave El Segundo a game, but the Eagles held
on for a 38-32 win. Lynch led all scorers with
15 points and had eight rebounds.
In the Bronze Division final, the Eagles faced
the Blair Vikings. The Vikings have outscored
their opponents by an average 63-49 over their
first 16 games. The Eagles were not intimidated
by a quick, physical team that won 25 games
a year ago and should challenge for the Rio
Hondo League title this season. The game
was tight throughout and went down to the
Davis & DeRosa Physical Therapy, Inc.
Davis & DeRosa Physical Therapy, established in 2003,
provides a quaint boutique practice located in El Segundo,
California. The 4,000 square foot facility is a well known
practice offering its patients private, personal treatment by
a licensed therapist at every visit. Patients are guaranteed
one-on-one attention for their 45-minute treatment.
THE PRACTICE SPECIALIZES IN
DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT FOR:
Chronic Neck and Back Pain
Pre and Post Surgical Rehabilitation
Sports Injuries
Work Injuries
Neurological Disorders
Foot and Ankle Disorders (including orthotics)
Osteoporosis and other Age Related Disorders
Balance and Vestibular Disorders
Injury Prevention
Troy Davis Owner, PT, DPT • Chris DeRosa Owner, PT, OCS
Leo Valenzuela, PT, DPT • Lianne Nakazaki, PT, DPT
Garret Wong, PT, DPT, OCS • Tami Chang, PT • Kim Klein, PT
William Quibell, PT, DPT • Richelle Mae Milina, PT, DPT, OCS
325 Main Street El Segundo, CA 90245 310.648.3167
www.davisandderosa.com
“In football, the worst things are excuses.
Excuses mean you cannot grow or move forward.”
– Pep Guardiola
See Eagles, page 12
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