Torrey Pines' triumph marred by key injuries

By: SCOTT BAIR - Staff Writer | Saturday, November 5, 2005 12:58 AM PST ∞

CARMEL VALLEY ---- The Torrey Pines High football team's trainers have been working overtime lately. The Falcons, beset by injuries, went into Friday night's home game against Poway without leading tackler Cory Scott, wide receiver Michael Lambesis and starting offensive linemen Alex Borgia and Nathan Vaughn, to name a few.

The list of walking wounded grew throughout the game, but No. 2-ranked Torrey Pines held strong and emerged with a 28-23 win over the Titans that clinched at least a share of the Palomar League title.

"I'm so proud of these kids," Torrey Pines coach Ed Burke said. "They hung tough and fought through adversity that a lesser group would have succumbed to. Poway challenged us, but our guys responded. They got the job done when they needed to."

The victory came at a heavy price. Scooter Belasco, Torrey Pines' top running back, cornerback and punter, left the game in the first quarter and did not return. He got hit on a running play suffered what Burke believed was a dislocated elbow. He was taken to an area hospital for further examination.

Burke said that thought Belasco, a senior, could be done for the season.

Offensive lineman Joe Cheng was also injured. He left the game in the second quarter due to a knee strain.

But the Falcons (8-1, 4-0) persevered with the players left standing. They weathered a Poway run of 16 unanswered points in the middle of the second half to secure the victory.

The Titans gained some momentum after falling behind 28-7 early in the third quarter on a 6-yard touchdown run from running back Brandon Sullivan. Then Guy Ricciardulli made it a game with a 53-yard punt return for a touchdown. A failed extra point left Poway (4-5, 2-2) down eight points heading into the fourth quarter.

The Titans were in the red zone and threatening to score again with Nic Renshaw made a spectacular interception of Poway quarterback Donnie McKillop. Poway threatened again, only come away with a 23-yard field goal from Butch Roche.

But when Torrey Pines needed to keep the chains and the clock moving, the team was able to do so behind the running of Connor Bird (11 carries, 115 yards) and Kyle Moffatt (9 carries, 44 yards). The Falcons defense did a solid job handling Sullivan, who rushed 25 times for 73 yards, well below his per game average of 162 yards.

"We came up a little short there at the end," Poway coach Damian Gonzalez said. "I'm happy with how we battled back in the second half. These guys can take confidence from the fact that they competed well with the No. 2 team in the county. If we can compete with these guys, we can compete with anybody."