Current Southwestern College head coach Ed Carberry coached 14 years at Monte Vista High School before leaving San Diego County to coach community college football.
During his decade-plus stint at Monte Vista, Carberry collected 101 wins. His teams advanced to three San Diego Section championship games, winning two (1995 against Escondido and 2003 against Helix).
Understandably, he was on the Monarch sideline for last Friday’s San Diego Section Division IV championship game at Southwestern College when fourth-seeded Monte Vista upset the previously undefeated and top-seeded San Diego Cavers 71-48.
“It’s awesome,” Carberry said while watching his former team capture its third section title and first under Ron Hamamoto, another coaching legend. “I’m a proud dad.”
The Monarchs set records for most points (71) in a section championship game, as did the teams’ combined 119 points.
Monte Vista junior Jahmon McClendon set a new section record with eight touchdowns in a CIF title game and tied the all-time section record set in the opening round of the Division III playoffs by Rancho Buena Vista’s Dorian Richardson in a 62-43 win over 11th-seeded Santana.
McClendon scored two touchdowns in the Monarchs’ 29-28 quarterfinal-round playoff win over fifth-seeded Chula Vista; he had two touchdowns and an interception in a 30-20 upset win over top-seeded University City in the division semifinals.
McClendon staked Monte Vista to a quick 14-0 lead last Friday on runs of four and 42 yards.
His footwork would later prove fortuitous to the Monarchs’ championship cause after the Cavers tied the game, 14-14, with 5:57 left in the first half.
McClendon broke the stalemate on the scoreboard on a 44-yard romp to put the Spring Valley team up 21-14.
But San Diego did its best to extend its unbeaten season by going ahead, 22-21, with 1:04 left in the second quarter on a 30-yard touchdown catch by Daniel Thomas, followed by a two-point conversion catch by teammate Thomas Marcus.
But there was enough time left on the scoreboard for McClendon to perform another breakaway move, in this case, moves, to put his team back on top for good. McClendon scored from 32 yards out with 30 seconds left in the half to propel the Monarchs to a 29-22 lead.
McClendon didn’t stop there. He scored his fifth touchdown of the game on a 49-yard run with 7:14 left in the third quarter that made the score 36-22.
Thomas (three catches, 116 yards) dazzled the crowd with a great one-handed catch and near simultaneous push-off on a defender to blaze down the field for a 70-yard TD catch that narrowed the Monte Vista lead to 36-28 just 20 seconds later.
McClendon scored his sixth touchdown with 4:41 left in the third quarter to put the Monarchs up 43-28.
The victory was almost assured when Elshadai Levi (eight carries, 83 yards) scored on a 45-yard run with 1:19 remaining in the third quarter. At this point, Monte Vista led 50-28.
It was Levi who scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime to eliminate Chula Vista in the quarterfinals.
When McClendon scored his seventh touchdown of the game on a 10-yard run to put his team up 57-28, many began wondering if he would get the ball again to score a record-setting eighth TD.
Terell Kyle (six carries, 76 yards) scored midway through the fourth quarter to increase the Monarchs’ dominance on the scoreboard to 64-34.
But McClendon, in fact, was not done. He took a handoff and sprinted 48 yards with 2:47 left in the game to put an exclamation mark on his team’s 23-point victory.
McClendon appeared completely exhausted after scoring the record touchdown, and not surprisingly so. He carried the ball 31 times for 383 yards — two yards short of the record for most yards in a championship game.
The Monarchs (8-5) amassed 574 rushing yards in running over the Cavers, scoring 10 touchdowns.
San Diego (12-1) was making its first appearance to the section finals since 1969 and represented itself well. But McClendon simply would not be stopped on this memorable evening.
Caver quarterback Quinn O’Connor passed for 317 yards and five touchdowns in the loss, throwing two interceptions.
The section title was the second for Hamamoto in five trips to the finals. His Monte Vista team lost, 7-0, to Sweetwater in its last visit to the CIF championship round in 2013. He last won a division title in 1994 with University of San Diego High School (now Cathedral Catholic).
Monarch QB Emmil Henderson attempted just three passes in last Friday’s championship game, completing one for 22 yards to Blake Schmidt. It was Schmidt, who, while lying on his stomach, tripped up Chula Vista’s Kajahan Duncan to break up Chula Vista’s potential game-winning two-point conversion attempt in the teams’ CIF playoff matchup.
“You’ve got to stay motivated because there’s always another play,” Schmidt said.
Drawing a crowd
The five division championship games attracted 31,000 fans to DeVore Stadium last Friday and Saturday. More than 11,000 attended last Friday’s double-header pitting Monte Vista and San Diego and Eastlake and El Camino.
The trio of games on Saturday drew just under 20,000. Highlights included top-seeded Southwest El Centro’s 35-28 win over second-seeded Santa Fe Christian in the Division III final to improve to 13-0 on the season and seventh-seeded Steele Canyon’s 33-29 upset win over top-seeded and previously undefeated Ramona in the Division II championship game.
It was the first CIF football title for Steele Canyon, which opened in 2000. The Cougars rallied with 12 second-half points to snap a 21-all halftime tie. John Lautner kicked a 36-yard field goal in the third quarter and Steele Canyon quarterback Thomas Fishburne scored on a one-yard sneak following a two-point safety in the fourth quarter.
Playing the role of underdog only inspired the Cougars, according to Fishburne, who rushed for 149 yards and passed for 163 yards in the game.
“People were rooting against us nine times during the season,” the Steele Canyon signal-caller recounted. “It’s an incredible feeling to come out here with my guys and make history.”
“We worked hard all season to get here,” Cougars head coach Scott Longerbone said. “It was a tough game. Everyone played hard; we came through.
“Down toward the end of the game, I felt myself about to cry. I’ve cried only once — when my son was born.”
Five teams posted undefeated records in the section during the regular season and four teams carried undefeated records into the CIF finals. However, Southwest El Centro was the only one to escape unscathed with a perfect record.
The season’s not quite yet over. Monte Vista will play at Katella (13-1) in a Division 5-A regional playoff game on Saturday while Steele Canyon will play at El Modena (12-2), also on Saturday.
Winners advance to state bowl championship games.
