Page 6 January 14, 2016 EL SEGUNDO HERALD NFL Divisional Round Set By Adam Serrao Is there anything at all in this world better than playoff football? After last week’s wild card matchups - that were certainly wild in every aspect of the word - the answer is a clear and overwhelming, ‘No!’ If there is anything bad at all that the playoffs signify, it’s that the football season that seemingly flashes by in the blink of an eye is almost over. With that being said, there are still a handful of teams attempting to duke it out in order to fulfill their dreams and scream, “Certain teams excelled, others buckled under pressure and others simply just didn’t show up. Seeing who rises to the occasion is what sports are all about. Which team will rise the highest?” “I’m going to Disneyland” into the camera come postgame, February 7th. Last week was a clear example of the lengths different teams will go to in order to reach prominence. Certain teams excelled, others buckled under pressure and others simply just didn’t show up. Seeing who rises to the occasion is what sports are all about. Which team will rise the highest? The team that certainly sank the lowest was the Houston Texans in their matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. An absolutely horrible performance was low-lighted by Brian Hoyer who highlighted the question of how the Texans made it to the playoffs in the first place. A total of 136 yards passing and four interceptions on the day were just some of the things that Hoyer did wrong as his team - which finished first place in the AFC South with a 9-7 record - managed zero points on the day in a 30-0 blowout. On the other side of the ball, the Chiefs defense looked like the best in the league. With Justin Houston, Husain Abdullah, and Allen Bailey leading the way, the Texans looked completely and utterly outmatched. Alex Smith managed the game nicely, throwing for 190 yards and a touchdown, while star receiver Jeremy Maclin left with what was a high ankle sprain. His potential absence from this week’s game will make it that much harder to get past what should be a rejuvenated New England Patriots team next round. The Steelers took on the Bengals in a game that was exactly the opposite of what Houston vs. KC was. If you’re a football fan, this game had everything you needed. Pouring rain, big hits, a rivalry between two AFC North teams that absolutely hate each other, and a game that came down to the very last second. In the end, it was the Bengals who beat themselves. With just 1:23 remaining in the game, Cincinnati’s defensive star’s let their tempers get the best of them and came undone. Vontaze Burfict took a cheap shot at Antonio Browns head that cost the Bengals 15 yards and Adam “Pacman” Jones lost his cool, pushing a Steelers defensive coach that cost the team yet another 15 yards. Those brainless moves, combined with the reemergence of Ben Roethlisberger following a sack that injured the AC joint in his shoulder, led the Steelers to a last second field goal that won the game and pushed Pittsburgh into the next round of the playoffs where they’ll travel to face Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. The Seattle Seahawks versus the Minnesota Vikings was the third coldest game ever played in the history of the National Football League. At kickoff, the temperature at the stadium was -6 degrees with a wind chill factor of -25. That made me cold just watching the game from my couch with blankets all around me. Unfortunately for the Vikings, they also went cold with just seconds remaining in the game - a game that they pretty much dominated from start to finish. As you can expect, football played in negative degree weather isn’t going to yield many points, but a 10-9 game with less than 30 seconds remaining came down to just one 27-yard kick for the Vikings to advance. If I’ve ever learned anything from Jim Carrey movies, it’s that the laces need to be facing out! Well, in this case, they weren’t. Vikings placeholder Jeff Locke received the ball from center and placed it down with the laces facing in. Blair Walsh missed a chip-shot that would have won a playoff game. It was the shortest missed field goal that wasn’t blocked of the entire football season. Now, after a game they should have won, Minnesota will be watching the rest of the playoffs from their couches just like me. Can you say heartbreak? The Washington Redskins were outscored 35-7 after leading the Green Bay Packers 11-0 early on. It was a rough first quarter for the Packers, who magically reinvented their running game in their 35-18 victory over Washington. Eddie Lacy got into the end zone, James Starks got across the line, and Aaron Rodgers threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns after a rough start that had Cheesehead’s nervous early. The Packers are hard to beat when they get production like that, as the Redskins eventually found out. Kirk Cousins didn’t like that. He and the Redskins failed to make plays in the second half and now, Green bay will travel to Arizona to take on my pick for AFC champs, the Cardinals. The playoffs wouldn’t be the same if we didn’t see Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in action. We’ll get exactly that this week as both Hall of Fame quarterbacks will come off of their respective bye weeks to compete. The Pats will welcome the Chiefs to Foxborough while the Broncos will be at home against Pittsburgh. Over in the NFC, the Packers get the Cards while the Seahawks will travel to Carolina to take on Cam Newton and the Panthers. For the first time ever, a round in the playoffs will feature four quarterbacks taken with the No. 1 overall pick (Manning, Newton, Alex Smith, Carson Palmer). Things are getting a whole lot more exciting on the road to the Super Bowl. The Divisional Round is officially set. Soon, we will have our final four. - Asixlion@earthlink.net • Douglass M O R T U A R Y “Our Family Serving Yours Since 1954” B U R I A L - C R E M A T I O N - W O R L D W I D E T R A N S F E R P E T M E M O R I A L P R O D U C T S 500 EAST IMPERIAL AVENUE EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA 90245 Telephone (310) 640-9325 • Fax (310) 640-0778 • FD658 Eagles Getting Ready for League Play By Gregg McMullin With the new year in its infant stages its time to direct our attention to the upcoming Ocean League schedules for the Eagles. The basketball and soccer teams as well as girls’ water polo have doing their part to prepare for league play with final non-league games. With the hectic traveling schedule and the top teams each played during the last week of 2015 the basketball programs returned home to make final adjustments before starting league play this week. The girls’ water polo team competed in the rigors of the Western Tournament. The Lady Eagles basketball team returned from playing in the Green Valley Tournament in Henderson, Nevada and faced Mira Costa. The second ranked Mustangs, who have reached the CIF finals the past two consecutive seasons, made El Segundo look sluggish in their 66-46 win over the Eagles. The Eagles took their only lead of the game early when Quinn Adams’ lay up went uncontested. from there on it was all Mira Costa. The Mustangs went on a 10-0 run before Ani Finau took a pass from Paige Endo and scored. The Eagles couldn’t match up with inside play of the Mustangs and trailed 19-11 after the first period. The closest the El Segundo could come was a 3-pointer by Endo to make it 21-16 midway through the second quarter. The Eagles missed easy shots and had problems with the Mustangs zone press. When Mira Costa’s 7-0 run to end the half gave the Mustangs a 35-23 lead it was only the beginning of a runaway. The Mustang’s distinct advantage inside gave them three and four shot attempts on the offensive end while the Eagles had trouble getting off any type of clear shots. There were literally no offensive rebounds so second chance shots were out of the question due to their lack of inside play. The Mustangs stretched their lead to as many as 30 points late in the third quarter before the Eagles made a surge in the fourth quarter and lose by twenty. The Eagles played host to Bellflower, a program that has been on the rise the past few seasons; the Buccaneers have averaged 17 wins the past two seasons. After getting embarrassed by Mira Costa the Eagles played more inspired basketball with all 12 players getting time in their 57-31 win. El Segundo came out flat and missed easy opportunities and led just 8-4 after the first quarter. Head coach Randy Kiehm lit a fire under his team and the Eagles responded with one of their most productive quarters of the season. Hannah Nonoguchi, who had been in shooting slump, and Quinn Adams made 3-pointers and the Eagles raced to a 31-10 lead at half-time. Coach Kiehm was happy about how his players responded in the second quarter and reiterated they just needed to play smarter and keep up their intensity on both ends of the court. “We need to crash the boards at both ends and get more involved,” he said. Coach Kiehm cleared his bench midway through the third quarter. Though the Buccaneers made a run at the Eagles and cut the lead to 15 points El Segundo went on an 11-0 run to lead 53-26 midway through the fourth quarter. A peek at the future surfaced in the second half when sophomores Makaela Bordieri, Alliya Nomura and the quartet of freshman including Kailea Lee, Chanel Murray, Kayla Smith and Malia Hui all got significant playing time. The Eagles (9-7) opened their quest for the program’s first league title by facing Beverly Hills last night. Friday night they host Culver City the four time defending Ocean League champions and have a forty game Ocean League win streak intact. Next week the Eagles host Hawthorne on Wednesday at 6pm. Coach Jason Ito’s Eagles had a great trip to Hawaii but according to Coach Ito the team See Eagles, page 16
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