The final chapter on the 2022 high school football season was written last weekend with state championship games taking place across California.
Saddleback College was the featured venue for all A and AA games while other divisions took place at host sites between participating teams.
The San Diego Section qualified four teams for games at Saddleback College – and came up a winner in all four games in a tremendous show of force.
Section teams won three state championship games last year.
Division I section champion Mater Dei Catholic captured its second consecutive state title by defeating Oakland McClymonds, 26-18, in last Friday’s Division 2-AA bowl game, followed by section Open Division champion Lincoln’s thrilling 33-28 win over Nor Cal champion De La Salle in the Division 1-AA game.
Section Division II champion Granite Hills and section Division V champion Classical Academy both played the following day.
Granite Hills defeated San Ramon Valley, 31-24, in an exciting overtime game to win the Division 2-A championship while Classical Academy edged San Jose Santa Teresa, 7-0, in a defensive matchup to capture the Division 6-AA.
San Diego Section commissioner Joe Heinz had to be pleased by the quadruple championship sweep.
Mater Dei Catholic (11-4) made history by claiming its 11th consecutive win on the season while Granite Hills (13-2) extended its winning streak to nine games.
Lincoln (13-1) won its 12th straight game while Classical Academy (12-3) captured its fifth game in a row.
Back-to-back
Mater Dei Catholic senior quarterback Dominic Nankil was constantly chased out of the pocket during last Friday’s Division 2-AA state championship game at Saddleback College but delivered two touchdowns strikes as the Crusaders defeated four-time state champion Oakland McClymonds, 26-18, to win their second consecutive state championship.
The state title was the third overall for Mater Dei Catholic, which tied Cathedral Catholic for most state titles won by a San Diego Section team.
The Crusaders became the first section team to win back-to-back state titles.
It took a special team to sketch out this special moment.
Crusader head coach John Joyner said his team didn’t try to play out of itself, calling his group a bunch of “hall of famers” who stuck to the team’s winning formula.
“It was another close game like the last three before it, but our team played well down the stretch and our senior leadership kept us in the game,” Joyner said. “They were a very strong team and a successful program, so I am proud of how our team finished.
“Winning back-to-back state titles is a huge accomplishment and we are very proud to be the first school in San Diego to ever go back to back.”
Like most of this otherwise amazing season, the game started out rocky for the two-time defending Metro-Mesa League champions.
Nankil threw an interception on the first play of the game that was returned 39 yards by McClymonds’ Ferrari Miller, Jr, one of two picks by him in the game. Five seconds into the game, the Oakland team had a 6-0 lead.
But the Chula Vista team quickly put that behind itself as Nankil capped an 80-yard drive with a 17-yard scoring pass to senior Surahz Buncom for a 7-6 lead.
Junior Ricky Osuna kicked field goals of 36 and 23 yards in the second quarter as Mater Dei settled into a 13-6 halftime lead.
The Crusaders took a 20-6 lead on a four-yard touchdown run by junior Anthony McMillian to start scoring in the third quarter. McMillian was the team’s power runner with 109 rushing yards in the game.
But the Oakland League champion Warriors, who were after their fifth state title, didn’t lay down as Javian Thomas (17 carries, 72 yards) countered with a four-yard scoring run of his own with 1:22 remaining in the third quarter to trim the Mater Dei Catholic lead to 20-12.
The Warriors (12-2) struck again with 7:46 left in the fourth quarter when Redmani Albert caught a 19-yard touchdown pass to inch closer at 20-18.
But the Crusaders had a quick answer for that on a 51-yard halfback pass from senior Rollin George to Buncom to create some needed breathing room at 26-18.
The rest was left up to the Mater Dei Catholic defense, which stopped McClymonds on two final possessions late in the game to preserve the victory.
Senior Chris Snyder put the Warriors down for the count with an interception deep in Crusader territory.
Mater Dei Catholic out-gained McClymonds 394-259 in total offensive yardage to go with three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) and two field goals.
The Crusaders survived three interceptions by the Warriors.
Nankil, who entered the game with 3,138 yards and 33 touchdowns, threw for nearly 200 yards in the game. Buncom led the receiving crew with five catches for 88 yards while senior Jerry McClure had seven catches for 62 yards and George had three catches for 42 yards).
The TD pass was the third of the season for George.
UCLA-bound Tre Edwards keyed the back-to-back state champions with 10 tackles.
The two-time state champions now hand the baton to a new leadership group.
“Next year’s team has a lot of seniors to replace but we are excited about the talent on our team and excited to get back to work after the new year,” Joyner said.
