Leave it to a kid who grew up in Bonita to keep a piece of NFL history intact that occurred before he was even born.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins, coached by the late Don Shula, the winningest coach in NFL history, will remain the league’s only unbeaten team after the Washington Football Team pulled off what is likely the biggest upset of the 2020-21 season so far by handing the previously undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers a shocking 23-17 loss Monday afternoon in the Steel City.
The Steelers had rocketed to an 11-0 start in pursuit of the Dolphins’ iconic 17-0 record en route to winning Super Bowl VII.
That was before Bonita Vista Middle School alumnus Alex Smith did them in.
Smith, starting his fourth consecutive game for Washington, helped his team dig out of an early 14-point deficit to lead a remarkable comeback as he improved his record to 3-1 this season and solidified his bid to win the 2020 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award.
It was Washington’s first win against the Steelers since 1991.
Smith was born in 1984.
The former Helix High School standout passed for 296 yards and one touchdown to lead Washington, which improved to 5-7 and remained in contention for the NFC East title along with the New York Giants, also 5-7 in the mediocre division.
But there was nothing mediocre about Monday’s win over the Steelers, who had entered the game as the No.-1 ranked team in the American Football Conference.
Smith helped engineer a 14-play, 82-yard drive to start the second half that narrowed the score to 14-10 following a one-yard run by Peyton Barber.
Smith tied the game, 17-17, on a 15-yard touchdown pass to Logan Thomas and helped guide the visitors to the go-ahead score on a 45-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins by hitting Cam Sims on a 29-yard pass to the Pittsburgh 25-yard line.
An interception by Jon Bostic in the dying minutes of regulation sealed the win for Smith & Co.
Washington added another 45-yard field goal for insurance with 17 seconds left.
The Washington defense denied Pittsburgh on two red zone possessions as Smith helped orchestrate a 20-3 drubbing of the Steelers in the second half on their home turf.
“Certainly, we got a lot of character in our locker room,” Smith told the media.
Inspiring stuff.
Smith, who obviously still has a strong arm at 36, has completed 68.7 percent of his passes this season while throwing for 1,363 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions.
Making the grade
Castle Park and San Diego State alum Luc Barcoo seems to be getting the hang of playing in the NFL since making his pro debut with the Jacksonville Jaguars three weeks ago.
Barcoo, an All-American with the Aztecs in his final season in 2019, was credited with one tackle in his first game, a 27-3 loss against the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 22. He made four tackles in his second game, a 27-25 loss to the visiting Cleveland Browns on Nov. 19, while making his first career start. He recorded his best outing to date by making five unassisted tackles in Sunday’s 27-24 overtime loss at the Minnesota Vikings.
In three games, the former Trojan has made 10 tackles, including seven unassisted tackles and three assists, one pass defended and one stuff.
The Jaguars sit at the bottom of the AFC South standings with a 1-11 record and have all but been eliminated from the upcoming NFL playoffs.
Barcoo, who signed with Jacksonville as an undrafted free agent, missed the team’s opening nine games while being on the team’s not-active roster.
Barcoo led the college football ranks in 2019 with nine interceptions while recording 25 passes defended as a senior at SDSU. He tied for second in the nation in pass breakups (16).
The nine picks were the most by an Aztec defensive back in the team’s Division I history (since 1969).
He started all 13 games last season for SDSU, finishing with 55 tackles (43 unassisted), including five tackles for a loss and one-half sack.
His three interceptions in a game against Colorado State on three successive snaps tied for the most in a FBS game in 2019 and is believed to be the most since at least 2012. He earned Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors for the career effort.
He ended the season as the Aztecs defeated Central Michigan, 48-11, in the New Mexico Bowl where he had four tackles and an interception.
He finished his collegiate career as a second team Walter Camp All-American and a third team Associated Press All-American.
The Aztecs finished 10-3 in 2019.
Barcoo recorded 20 tackles (12 unassisted), one interception and five passes defended in 11 games in his first year at SDSU in 2018 after transferring from Grossmont College.
As a Griffin, he had 21 tackles and two interceptions during his freshman year on defense before moving to offense as a sophomore where he had 35 receptions for 767 yards and seven touchdowns. He tallied three career interceptions at the community college level while earning all-conference honors/
He graduated from Castle Park in 2016. During his sophomore year he showed promise by averaging seven yards per rushing play in 11 games while making five catches for 114 yards with one touchdown. As a defender, he averaged 7.5 tackles per game while recording four interceptions and one fumble recovery.
He did a little bit of everything with the Trojans, rushing 57 times for 472 yards (8.4 yards per game) and six touchdowns over his final two seasons while catching 71 passes for 1,314 yards (18.5 per game) and 15 touchdowns. On defense, he totaled 74 tackles (52 unassisted), four tackles for a loss, five interceptions, nine pass breakups and a blocked field goal.
But the accolades during his three varsity seasons at Castle Park did not garner him a college scholarship.
Instead, he’s had to work his way up the ladder on his own, finally making it to the NFL with hard work and determination — qualities he capitalized on to turn both his life and football career around.
That isn’t necessarily a surprise to his coaches.
Extra points
Mater Dei Catholic High School alum Jason Myers kicked a 31-yard field goal and split the uprights on a point-after touchdown conversion to finish Sunday’s game against the visiting New York Giants with four kicking points. But the host Seattle Seahawks were upset 17-12 by the NFC East leading Giants to fall from first place in the NFC West standings.
Seattle dropped to 8-4 on the season, but rank second to the L.A. Rams (8-4) in the division standings based on head-to-head tiebreaker. The Arizona Cardinals (7-5) are a game behind in third place in the division standings, followed by the defending division champion San Francisco 49ers (5-7).
Myers has appeared in all 12 Seattle games this season and remains perfect on all 16 field goal attempts (100 percent) while converting 39 of 41 PAT attempts (95.1 percent).
In 82 career NFL games, Myers has successfully made 136 of 159 field goal attempts (85.5 percent) and 185 of 206 extra-point conversions (89.8 percent). He kicked a career long (and franchise record) 61-yard field goal in a 23-16 loss to the Rams on Nov. 15.
Entering the Seahawks’ upcoming game against the New York Jets, Myers is riding a streak of 27 consecutive field goals.
Seattle is set to host the Rams in a Dec. 27 divisional showdown and conclude regular season play Jan. 3 at the 49ers. The Seahawks play at Washington on Dec. 20.
- Mount Miguel High School alum Cory Littleton had two tackles for the Las Vegas Raiders (7-5) in their last-second 31-29 win at the winless New York Jets (0-12). On the season, Littleton has accumulated 48 tackles, including 30 solo hits, in 10 games.
Pro sports teams have had their mettle tested by COVID-19 pandemic
The specter of COVID-19 continues to haunt the sports landscape more than six months after the coronavirus pandemic was originally declared back in March.
It has affected every level of organized sport, from the amateur to professional ranks.
While many organizations canceled spring sports outright to remain safe in a dangerous and unpredictable environment, some organizations attempted to play on.
Both the National Basketball League and National Hockey League held playoff tournaments in bubble venues to complete unfinished seasons. The NBA held its entire playoff tournament in Orlando, Fla., while the NHL divided its conference bubbles between Toronto and Edmonton in Canada.
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat, 106-93, to win the 2020 NBA title four games to two games while the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Dallas Stars, 2-0, in Game 6 to capture the 2020 Stanley Cup championship.
Of note, both leagues managed to navigate their COVID-19 bubbles without any infections. The NHL administered 33,000 COVID-19 tests without a single positive case.
But playing out of protective bubbles has been another story.
Grand slam
Major League Baseball opened ballparks but played without fans. Still, teams hit several snags throughout the summer that necessitated several games being postponed or canceled due to coronavirus outbreaks on teams. However, the regular season was completed in advance of the expanded 16-team playoff tournament.
All but two teams managed to finish their entire 60-game regular season schedules.
Playoff bubbles took place in San Diego for American League teams and in Texas for National League teams.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, the top MLB team in the regular season, proved it was also the best in the playoffs by defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in six games to win the 2020 World Series title.
It was the Dodgers’ first World Series championship since 1988.
The Dodgers finished with a 43-17 regular season record to earn the top seed in the eight-team National League playoffs and dispatched the eighth-seeded Milwaukee Brewers by scores of 4-2 and 3-0 to sweep the teams’ best-of-three wild card series to draw the fourth-seeded San Diego Padres, the runner-up in the NL West standings with a 37-23 record, in the best-of-five divisional round.
The Padres, recording their best winning percentages (.617) in franchise history, rallied with 11-9 and 4-0 victories to top the fifth-seeded St. Louis Cardinals in three games after the Red Birds had won the opener 7-4 at Petco Park.
It was a breakthrough moment for the Padres, who had dropped the three previous playoff match-ups against the Cardinals in 1996, 2005 and 2006 and were playing in the postseason for the first time in 14 years.
The Padres earned a footnote in MLB history after becoming the first team to win an elimination series by using nine pitchers in a game.
But the Friars’ hopes of winning the 2020 World Series were dashed in a three-game sweep by the Dodgers in the divisional round. The Dodgers ousted the Padres by scores of 5-1, 6-5 and 12-3.
The Dodgers edged the second-seeded Atlanta Braves (NL East champions) four games to three in the National League Championship Series, winning the final three games to erase a 3-1 series deficit to claim victory in seven games.
Tampa Bay, the top-seeded team in the American League, defeated the defending World Series champion Houston Astros in a seven-game cliffhanger in the ALCS to advance to meet the Dodgers for the 2020 MLB title.
Getting their kicks
Major League Soccer, competing in its 25th anniversary season, followed the lead of the NBA and NHL by holding its MLS is Back tournament behind closed doors at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney Resort in Bay Lake, Fla., from July 8 to Aug. 11.
Twenty-four of the league’s 26 teams participated. Postponements were commonplace due to infection spikes on teams. Both FC Dallas and Nashville SC withdrew after players tested positive for the COVID-19 virus prior to their first scheduled matches.
Teams competed in six groups, playing three games each, with 16 teams (top two teams in each division, plus four best third-place teams) advancing to the single-elimination knockout rounds (Round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game).
The Portland Timbers swept through the knockout stage to come out on top as champions with a 2-1 victory against Orlando City SC in the final.
Larrys Mabiala and Dario Zuparic scored goals for the winners to offset a goal by Orlando City’s Mauricio Pereyra. Zuparic scored the game-winning goal in the 66th minute to snap a 1-1 deadlock between the teams.
Portland’s Sebastian Blanco earned player of the tournament honors while Diego Rossi of the Los Angeles Football Club won the Golden Boot award (with seven goals in five games) and also was voted the Young Player of the Tournament. Philadelphia Union’s Andre Blake received the Golden Glove award (with 32 saves and two shutouts).
The MLS followed up the bubble tournament with regular season play as teams played an unbalanced schedule of 18-23 games. A full playoff schedule will culminate with the Audi MLS Cup championship game Dec. 12.
The fourth-seeded Minnesota United Loons upset top-seeded Sporting Kansas City, 3-0, in the teams’ Western Conference semifinal playoff game on Dec. 3 to advance to Monday’s conference final against the second-seeded (and defending MLC Cup champion) Seattle Sounders.
The Sounders won, 3-2, on a dramatic stoppage time goal by Gustave Svensson to meet the Columbus Crew, which eliminated the New England Revolution, 1-0, in the Eastern Conference final on Sunday (Dec. 6).
Saturday’s championship game will be played in Columbus, starting at 5 p.m. PST on the FOX television network.
The Loons acquired former Hilltop High School alumnus Adrian Zendejas in a trade with Nashville on Sept. 18. Zendejas had previously played in MLS with Kansas City from 2017-19 and on loan to the Swope Park Rangers in the United Soccer League before being traded to Nashville in November 2019.
Zendejas, a 2013 Hilltop graduate, appeared in 38 matches for Swope Park while leading the team to a pair of USL Cup Final in 2016-17.
He went 8-0-0 in his first eight starts in 2016 with Swope Park (since rebranded as Sporting Kansas City II) and ranked as the top USL goalkeeper with at least eight appearances with a 0.36 goals-against average and 0.87 save percentage.
In 25 appearances with the Rangers in 2017, he recorded a 0.91 GAA with 10 shutouts.
The former Lancer is one of five goalkeepers on Minnesota United’s 2020 roster.
Zendejas recorded a 0.70 GAA and 21 shutouts as a sophomore and junior at Hilltop before joining the U20 team for Liga MX team Club Tijuana from 2014-16. He played the 2012-13 season for the San Diego Surf of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.
He is eligible to play internationally for both the United States (by birthplace) and Mexico (by parentage).
