Ever since the Crescenta Valley High School Falcons won their second CIF championship in 2014, they have been a model of consistency. The Falcons have made the playoffs in the three years since their 14-0 championship season, and have subsequently lost in the first round all three years. Mira Costa took the win from the Falcons 13-12 on Friday night.

The Falcons came into the matchup as the No. 3 seed in their playoff bracket. However, Mira Costa’s 4-6 record in the regular season did not reflect how truly good a team they have.

The game started out looking very good for the Falcons in the first half. After a safety on a botched Mira Costa punt and a Chris Wood field goal, the Falcons used a little trickery on a field goal attempt as quarterback Cole Doyle threw a touchdown pass to Jordan Nelson, who was standing near the sideline and out of the defense’s view.

With a 12-0 lead as the clock ticked down to end the first half, CV missed out on a great opportunity. One yard away from scoring and out of timeouts, miscommunication between Doyle and offensive coordinator Hudson Gossard occurred.

Gossard yelled for Doyle to spike the ball with 12 seconds remaining after a failed quarterback sneak. But amid the confusion of all that was happening, Doyle instead lined up and tried to run the ball in once more. He was stuffed again, and the clock hit zero on the first half with the Falcons’ ending their last real chance to put points on the scoreboard in this game.

“Our mismanagement there at the end of the first half [hurt us]. We meant to spike it,” head coach Paul Schilling said. “That is going to haunt us.”

When the Falcons came out in the second half, their offense was shut down. With senior running back Joe Suh out of the game because of injury, a lot of the duties fell on Doyle to lead the offense through the air and on the ground. Mira Costa knew making Doyle ineffective was their best chance at victory, and that is exactly what they did. Doyle finished with 84 yards passing while completing 27.3% of his passes. On the ground, he was only able to squeeze out 27 yards on 16 carries.

This loss was definitely a shock for the Falcons, who were favored in the Pacific League (finished third) and viewed as one of the biggest contenders in the CIF playoffs before the season started. While still reflecting on their success, losing three of their final four games will leave a bitter taste in their mouths, one that will stay no doubt all offseason.

The Falcons have a lot of seniors graduating this spring. James Baek, Grady Schilling, and Jordan Lobianco, all of whom helped in the passing game and in the secondary, will be gone. Brian Erickson, the defensive leader this season and part time tight end, has played his final down. Most of the Falcons’ offensive line will be moving on with Destin Jordan, Joe Ara, Tommy Chun, and Riley Center all graduating. Suh will also need a replacement next year at the running back position.

However, they will be bringing back Cole Doyle for his senior season. Angel Ochoa, who filled in at running back against Mira Costa, will see his role expand next season as he was a standout starting safety this season. He can play both running back and wide receiver, and it will be interesting to see how Gossard utilizes him in 2018.

The Falcons will look very different next season. But Coach Schilling and his staff have handled their team well the past few seasons, even with the departures of star players such as Tyler Hill and Brian Gadsby. Next season will present a challenge, but don’t be surprised to see this team fighting for a playoff spot for a fifth consecutive season.

  Vincent PAGE