Sone Aupiu stars as St. Anthony football clinches playoff berth with win over Harvard-Westlake

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DOWNEY >> Sone Aupiu ran chaotic Friday night, starring St. Anthony into the CIF Southern Section playoffs with a lopsided triumph implicit Harvard-Westlake.

Aupiu ran for 294 yards and 4 touchdowns connected 23 carries successful a small much than a fractional arsenic the Saints claimed 2nd spot successful the Del Rey League and the league’s past automatic postseason berth with a 53-23 romp astatine St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy.

Conor Hochberg threw 2 touchdown passes and the Saints (6-4 overall, 3-1 Del Rey) recovered 3 onside oregon pooch kickoffs — 2 collected by Remy Doering — arsenic they stormed to a 39-14 halftime pb and extended it to 53-14 successful the 3rd quarter.

  • St. Anthony’s Kweku Claybrook (8) scores arsenic during a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

  • St. Anthony’s Conor Hochberg (9) stiff-arms Harvard-Westlake’s Beau Lindus connected his mode to a touchdown during a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

  • Harvard-Westlake’s Jason Thompson (1) pulls successful a touchdown walk during a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

  • St. Anthony’s Aiden Beranek (8) celebrates with St. Anthony’s Ryan Norried (1) aft scoring during a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

  • Jonathan Lopez 18-months was wearing a antithetic benignant of azygous for Senior Night earlier a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

  • Harvard-Westlake’s Alvin Holmes (3) scores during a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

  • St. Anthony’s Sone Aupiu (24) breaks escaped for a archetypal down during a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

  • St. Anthony’s Conor Hochberg (9) gets sacked by Harvard-Westlake’s Sonny Heyes (77) during a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

  • St. Anthony’s Kweku Claybrook (8) hauls successful a touchdown walk during a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

  • St. Anthony’s caput manager Raul Lara calls plays during a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

  • Harvard-Westlake’s Brock Getson (33) gets hauled down by his jersey during a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

  • St. Anthony’s Eric Sam Suluai (52) gets congratulated by teammates aft his 2nd sack of the archetypal fractional during a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

  • St. Anthony’s Eric Sam Suluai (52) was introduced earlier Senior Night during a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

  • Harvard-Westlake’s Sonny Heyes (77) goes precocious to tackle St. Anthony’s Sone Aupiu (24) during a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

  • Harvard-Westlake’s Aidan Greenfield (2) scramble for a archetypal down during a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

  • St. Anthony’s Conor Hochberg (9) stiff-arms Harvard-Westlake’s Beau Lindus connected his mode to a touchdown during a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

  • St. Anthony’s Sone Aupiu (24) heads up tract for a archetypal down up of Harvard-Westlake’s Sonny Heyes (77) during a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

  • Parents get a changeable of their elder players earlier a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

  • St. Anthony’s Aiden Beranek (8) finds a spread during a St. Anthony High and Harvard-Westlake High successful a Del Rey League shot crippled astatine St. Pius X-St. Mathias High School. successful Downey CA connected October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Goulding)

Aupiu, who has topped 100 yards 7 times successful 9 ganes and 200 connected 4 occasions, pushed his play totals to 1,675 yards and 18 TDs connected the ground.

The Saints, who 2 weeks agone mislaid a league-title showdown astatine Salesian, volition larn their first-round duty connected Sunday.

It’s the 16th playoff quality for Saints first-year caput manager Raul Lara, who took Long Beach Poly to the playoffs 13 times successful arsenic galore seasons — winning 5 championships — and Warren to the postseason doubly successful 5 years.

The crippled was choky to start, with the teams trading touchdowns, but St. Anthony scored connected its archetypal 5 possessions — including 3 times successful the archetypal 2 and a fractional minutes of the 2nd 4th — to presume command.

Aupiu ran for 42 yards connected the Saints’ archetypal drive, the last 2 into the extremity portion for a speedy 6-0 lead, and Harvard-Westlake (5-5, 2-3) answered connected its archetypal possession, taking a 7-6 vantage connected a 20-yard Aidan Greenfield-to-A.J. Holmes surface pass.

St. Anthony was backmost successful beforehand wrong 2 minutes, Aupiu scoring connected a 5-yard tally 3 plays aft romping 45 yards to the Wolverines 19. The Saints defence past forced a 3-and-out, and the Saints drove 70 yards for a 19-7 pb arsenic Conor Hochberg ran for a 22-yard people — 3 plays aft a 29-yard Aupiu summation — connected the archetypal play of the 2nd quarter.

The Saints’ short, debased kickoff ricocheted disconnected 2 Harvard-Westlake players and was recovered astatine the Wolverines 38 by Doering. Hochberg deed Kweku Claybrook astatine the extremity enactment for a 32-yard touchdown 3 plays later, and Anakin “A.K.” Aupiu forced a Greenfield fumble connected Harvard-Westlake’s archetypal play pursuing the kickoff, with Raymond Gomez collecting the shot astatine the 33.

Aupiu scored connected a 45-yard tally 2 plays later, but a holding punishment down him brought it back, truthful helium followed with a 27-yard tally to the 13, gained 11 2 plays aboriginal and scored from the 2 successful the adjacent play to marque it 32-7.

Greenfield deed J.T. Thompson for a 55-yard people 14 seconds later, but Hochberg ran for a 2-yard TD with 10 seconds near successful the half, and the Saints scored doubly successful the archetypal 4:17 of the 3rd quarter, connected a 29-yard Hochberg-to-Ryan Norried plaything walk and, aft different Doering betterment connected the kickoff, a 38-yard Aupiu run.

Aaron Milburn added an 8-yard TD tally earlier the 4th was over, and Milo Kiddugavo kicked a 41-yard tract extremity successful the 4th fourth for Harvard-Westlake.

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