The Perfect Upset(s)
Caption: New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin is doused by his player Madison Hedgecock after the Giants beat the New England Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2008, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
The Giants victory over the Patriots will surely go down as one of the biggest in sports history.
It got me thinking about some recent upsets (since 2001) and where they rank in the Whittier area.
Here's my order? Do you agree or disagree? Were some ranked too high or too low? What did I miss?
10. Undefeated Cantwell falls in the first round to visiting Brentwood in 2002 -
The Cardinals defense, which had posted five shutouts, had only allowed one opponent to score in double digits before losing to Brentwood, the third seed out of the Alpha League, 36-26.
9. El Rancho knocks off Cal-Hi in 2007 Del Rio League finale -
A Dons squad that was 0-10 a year earlier, defeated a supposedly superior Condors team, 13-6, in the final week to earn a playoff birth.
8. La Habra defeats Fullerton in the 2003 Division IX Semifinals -
The Highlanders were embarrassed 35-3 in the team's first meeting at Fullerton. So it was very surprising when La Habra knocked off an 11-1 Fullerton squad 14-6 en route to its second straight divisional title.
7. Mayfair upsets La Mirada 22-9 in the 2001 Division VI Championship Game -
The win was a stunning turnaround from a 28-0 La Mirada regular season win over Mayfair. The Matadores (11-1), who scored an average of 34 points a game during the postseason, were held to a season-low nine points.
6. Whittier Christian knocks off Whittier in 2006 regular season meeting 41-13 -
Okay, so maybe it doesn't seem like that much of an upset now. But remember this was a Division XIII team taking down a Division VII team handily.
5. La Serna knocks off unbeaten Rosemead in Division VII first round in 2005 -
This was a 10-0 Rosemead team that was talking about a Division VII championship. That was until, La Serna, which was expected to be blown out, instead dominated the host Panthers 21-6.
4. St. Paul knocks off undefeated Culver City in Division III quarterfinals, 32-26, in 2 OT's this past season.
There were missed extra points, blocked field goals and a surprise second-half appearance that went into one of the better games of the year.
3. Schurr holds off La Habra 9-7 in Division VII 2006 semifinal -
I know, I know, the Highlanders had a big injury during the game in losing quarterback Chris Morales, but it still was an impressive victory.
2. San Gabriel's 2003 Division VII Semifinal upset over Santa Fe -
An 11-1 Santa Fe football team had been beating up teams left and right before bowing to the unlikeliest of teams in the most unlikeliest of runs.
1. Schurr trumps Santa Fe 40-22 in the 2006 Division VII Championship Game -
Remember the talk about the 2006 Chiefs being the greatest team in school history. It took a historic upset from a Schurr squad that lost by 33 points in its season finale to end Santa Fe's run.
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About this blog
Steve Ramirez is the prep sports editor for the Whittier Daily News.
Hard to tell. I dont see either team going all the way to the Super Bowl again. It's a great time to make Superbowl bets though, the odds are really high.
Excellent post with some good info, think i'll share this on my twitter if you don't mind and maybe even blogroll it depending on the feedback, thanks for sharing
Hey hsfootballfan,
The Coaches did everything they could to win that game. Schurr played lights out, hats off to them. Each of the teams in that game were coming off the two biggest upsets over the number 1 and number 2 teams in the division. Santa Fe didn’t recover as well as Schurr. The Schurr win over La Habra was a bigger Upset!
Unfortunately I have to agree with you that the the lost to Schurr was a big one after what they did to Troy they should have whipped on Schurr on paper a better team but on the field that night at that time Schurr came out with HEART AND was a better team that night. again Congrats to the Schurr.
Why no love to the CITY SECTION? Biggest upset there was Garfield (ranked 15) beating #2 Wilmington Banning 7-6. The score doesn't indicate how close the game really was. Garfield held Banning, who I might add was favored win the championship, to 6 first downs the entire game. This was a true upset. #15 beating a POWERHOUSE #2.
ya i would rank the Schurr Championship over Santa Fe as the biggest upset in area history.
SF came in cocky and unfocused which was the coaches fault. but if those 2 teams played 10 games SF would win 9 of them.
too bad they lost the big one that year
I see you managed to put SF on your list twice in losses. You could have also added their 2006 12-0 team that had one of the largest sets of tackles I can remember in a long time only to tank vs Orange. But on that same note you failed to mention their great game in 2007’s semifinals against the mighty 12-0 Troy Warriors who were averaging 45 points a game, which SF came from behind to beat 33-28 and get to the finals for the first time in school history. I think that year everyone expected a La Habra – Troy finals only to be denied. Both Schurr and SF had great semifinal games that year.