After two consecutive blowout losses at the hands of the Dons, Point Loma came out and knocked down the defending section champions early last night in the San Diego Section Division III quarterfinals.

But like all champions, they must be knocked out to be defeated.

Star running back Tyler Gaffney ran for two touchdowns, the defense held firm late and top-seeded Cathedral Catholic survived for a 20-14 victory over the gritty Pointers

With the victory, the Dons (11-0) advance to face No. 4 seed St. Augustine on Friday.

All the talk after the game centered on how Point Loma (6-5-1) – after losing by a combined score of 83-13 the last two times these teams met – nearly pulled off the upset.

“The playoffs is a lot different than any other time,” Dons coach Sean Doyle said. “The stadium game (last year's Division III final) you can just throw out. They just came to play and did a good job.”

While Gaffney was able to gain huge chunks of yardage – he ran for 197 yards on 29 carries and a pair of 4-yard touchdowns – the Pointers defense stifled him often in key situations.

Yet with the game and possibly the season on the line, Gaffney delivered a 4-yard run on a third-and-2 with 1:35 left in the game to ice it.

“We just said to our guys to muscle up and we've got to just push 2 yards to win the game, and we did it,” Gaffney said.

“It's tremendous,” Doyle said. “In those situations, he knows to put his shoulder pads down. We got a good push by our line, and he just drove them the rest of the way. That's what it should be like.”

Senior quarterback Parker Hipp continued his steady play, going 10-for-15 with 167 yards passing and five carries for 27 yards.

Point Loma junior running back Leslie Rogers dazzled in the first half, running 10 times for 67 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown, but apparently tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee on the second-to-last play of the half.

“We're hoping (he'll be back) in eight to nine months,” Hastings said. “It just depends on his surgery and rehab, but he's a tough kid.”

Despite five fumbled snaps, junior quarterback Keegan Fitzgerald took the team on his shoulders in the second half, rushing the ball 12 times for 82 yards and a 1-yard touchdown. But a late sack by Cathedral lineman Mustafa Jalil and an incompletion on a late fourth-down try doomed the Pointers.

“We've come a long way and we don't lose much,” Hastings said. “We'll be back next year.”