DIVISION III FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS

In other Division III first-round games:

Righetti 24, Crescenta Valley 7--The unheralded Warriors (6-5) forced seven turnovers and piled 265 yards rushing to shock the No. 2-seeded and previously unbeaten Falcons at Glendale High.

Crescenta Valley’s Kenny Pritchett, who rushed for 1,722 during the regular season, was held to 94 yards in 25 carries and lost three fumbles. He scored on a one-yard run with nine minutes to play.

But there were plenty of mistakes to go around for Crescenta Valley, which has not won a playoff game since 1992.

“I don’t know why,� Crescenta Valley Alan Eberhart said. “It seemed like we were ready. We just never seemed to get into the flow of the game.�

Despite five turnovers in the first half, the Falcons (10-1) trailed only 6-0 at intermission. The only points of the half came on a 20-yard pass play from Ruben Villa to Scott Smith midway through the second quarter.

Righetti, the third-place team from the Northern League, seized control in the third quarter, scoring on its first two possessions. Jared Smith scored on a 15-yard run and Jimmy Atkinson kicked a 24-yard field goal for a 17-0 lead.

Seth Santoro completed five of 15 passes for 37 yards and had two passes intercepted.

“We picked a bad time to play our worst game of the season,� Eberhart said. “In the second half they took the ball and ran it down our throats. Nobody had done that all season.�