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By Loren Kopff
Sports Editor | Follow X
November 9, 2025
After a three-year absence from the CIF-Southern Section playoffs, La Mirada High was rewarded with a home game in the first football postseason game in the newly renovated Goodman Memorial Stadium. The Matadores, who finished in fourth place in the Gateway League and were one of three at-large representatives in Division 8, gave 12th seeded Beckman High all it could handle in the first half.
But the fifth-seeded team lacked the same offensive punch it showed in the first quarter, and its defense was on the field for nearly 16 and a half minutes in the second half as the Matadores (4-7) fell to the Patriots 41-21 last Friday.
After a pair of 3-7 seasons since taking over for former head coach Mike Moschetti, Lucas Mealy finally reached the playoffs with a relatively young team that was without one of its two quarterbacks, sophomore Ace Faagata (concussion) and its leading running back, junior Ismael Garcia (ankle). Both injuries occurred in the season finale against Mayfair High.
Still, La Mirada was able to take a pair of leads in its first two possessions before the offense was stymied in the second quarter, especially late in the half when a long drive ended in an interception.
“We were prepared; I liked our game plan,” said Mealy. “We went out and executed it. Offensively, we were moving the ball, and I thought we executed pretty well. [Part] of our game plan was to attack specific areas of their defense, and our quarterback did that. It was just a tough result tonight.”
La Mirada took the opening kickoff and rode the legs of junior Josiah Fregoso, who rushed five times and caught a seven-yard pass from junior quarterback Isaac Cuevas on the third play of the game. But his 36-yard run on third and four gave the hosts a 7-0 lead eight plays into the contest.
After the Patriots tied the game three minutes later, Fregoso was back in action, touching the ball five plays in a nine-play, 71-yard drive which ended when Fregoso went in from a yard out.
The first turning point of the game came when the Matadores forced Beckman to punt, only to see the catch muffed and recovered by Evan Dempsay of the Lamda League champions. On the next play, Sawyer Nickelson hauled in a 37-yard touchdown pass from Evan Lam and the game was tied again.
“That fumble was tough, and [senior] Logan [Martinez] has returned punts for us all year,” said Mealy. “We trust him back there and it was almost one of those things where the ball hit, he was trying to fair catch it, and it was a reaction; the ball bounced, and he put his hand up.”
Following a 50-yard punt from junior Cristian Hecker, Beckman drove 93 yards in 4:15 to take its first lead, a one-yard run from Makhi Czaykowski. Later in the quarter, the Matadores were driving and were looking good, moving from their 21-yard line to the nine-yard line. But on first and goal, Cuevas was picked off by Xavier Musselman-Cano near the corner of the end zone with 27 seconds left before halftime.
“It wasn’t the end of the world,” said Mealy. “Like I said, gameplan-wise, we knew there were certain areas of the defense we wanted to attack, and [Cuevas] did what he was coached to do. It’s tough throwing a fade ball to the field. It hurt, but the game wasn’t over. We had lots of opportunities to continue to rally.”
On the second play coming out of the locker room, Lam launched a 44-yard touchdown pass to Julian Rosa as the Patriots opened a 27-14 lead. But the Matadores continued to attack the Beckman defense and four plays into their first drive of the second half, Fregoso made it a touchdown trifecta with a 42-yard run, and just like that, it was a one-possession game.
But the dagger in the heart came when Beckman took 6:03 off the clock on an 11-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a one-yard sneak from Lam. Then the Patriots ran another 11 plays from scrimmage, covering 85 yards and took another 6:33 off the clock in the fourth quarter, ending in a two-yard run from Aidan Tran for the final touchdown of the game.
“Josiah is a special football player,” said Mealy. “He’s got great vision, great patience and obviously to top that off, he showed it. He’s a stud and he kind of let it develop a little bit. I think he broke one or two tackles and then he took off.”
Cuevas, who entered the game with 408 yards, completes 22 of 38 passes for 233 yards while Fregoso led the rushing attack with 145 yards on 18 carries. Sophomore linebacker Matt Ybarra had six tackles while junior safety Fernando Orozco added four and a half tackles.
Mealy eluded to the fact that the returners have to get stronger in the offseason, especially on the defensive end. The Matadores had the ball for a little over seven minutes in the second half and gave up over 200 yards in the final 24 minutes.
“One thing that’s tough; there’s no excuses [but] we’re young,” said Mealy. “So a lot of these guys don’t necessarily know how to overcome some of the adversities. I think this is a great opportunity to learn from it and move forward.
“We played a ton of underclassmen,” he continued. “We played three freshmen tonight; we played a lot of sophomores, and we have a good group of juniors coming back, and the future is bright.”
The last time La Mirada had a winning record, it was 7-5 during the 2021 season in which the Matadores lost in the Division 7 quarterfinals. While Mealy won’t shy away from playing anybody, the 2026 season plans to be another tough one, especially in league with the new conference taking place and Del Rio League power La Serna High joining the party along with Downey High, Mayfair and Warren High, just to name a few. La Mirada could be placed in the upper of three leagues, or the middle.
“We’re young, and we have a ton of studs coming back,” said Mealy. “Obviously, our senior class wanted to keep playing, but we’re young. There are a ton of starters coming back, and the growth is going to happen. I think next year is really going to be a year where you’re going to see some changes, not just as far as the talent and stuff like that. But the mentality of these kids who got to the playoffs and understand where they’re at right now and what it takes. Now we have to put it together, have a good offseason and get ready to go for next year.”
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