SO. SECTION DIVISION III: ONE PLAY CHANGES IT LATE FUMBLE HURTS HIGHLAND ST. PAUL 23, HIGHLAND 7.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

SANTA FE SPRINGS - All the Highland of Palmdale football team needed to do was run out the final 28.3 seconds of the second quarter Friday night to head into halftime trailing by two on the road against St. Paul of Santa Fe Springs in its Southern Section Division III first round playoff game.

And after the start the Bulldogs had gotten off to against the Swordsmen - in a stadium affectionately known as ``The Pit'' - it was a best-case scenario. So Highland called for a draw, handed the ball to running back Kris Theus for the 21st time in the half and watched the senior break through the line.

One step later, though, disaster struck for Highland. Theus was hit 4 yards into his run and coughed up the ball. It landed in the hands of St. Paul's Chris Valentino, who returned it 59 yards down the sideline for the deciding touchdown in the Swordsmen's 23-7 victory.

``It was just a draw play,'' Highland coach Sam Vaiana said afterward. ``The guy could have fallen on the ball, gotten tackled, anything. Instead, he runs it straight back at us right before halftime.''

In the end, Valentino's fumble return was the best indicator of the razor-thin margin that kept Highland (7-4) from winning Friday night. The Bulldogs turned over the ball three times and failed to convert five fourth-down plays deep in St. Paul territory, their offense stalling at just the wrong time.

``We really wanted to see how far we could take it in the playoffs,'' Theus said. ``We wanted to beat St. Paul and play (top-seeded) Mira Costa. I just wish we could have played better.''

Highland elected not to dress at St. Paul before the game - with Vaiana instead opting to use the facilities at John Glenn High in Norwalk - due to the hostile surroundings the coach feared. Once at ``The Pit,'' the Bulldogs got off to one of the worst starts imaginable.

On the second play of the game, Highland had an 84-yard touchdown run by Theus called back because of a holding penalty and wound up trailing 9-0 less than seven minutes in. Gary Rosales had a third-down pass intercepted on the next series, and the Bulldogs turned over the ball on downs twice after that.

Instead of a blowout, however, Highland battled back on the strength of its defense. With senior lineman John Ikahihifo leading the way, the Bulldogs held St. Paul sophomore running back Dwight Tardy to just 86 yards on 26 carries, more than 72 yards below his season average.

But St. Paul (7-3-1) eventually put away the game in the fourth quarter. Robbie Herrera's second 4-yard touchdown of the evening made it 23-7 with eight minutes left. Rosales drove Highland back the other way, but his end zone pass was tipped and fell incomplete with 3:48

left, leaving Highland 1 for 7 on fourth-down plays.