South County high school football coaches Kurt Gritts and Gary Pugh both had a birds-eye view of the 40th annual San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl game Dec. 28 from their perch in the press box at SDCCU Stadium.
Gritts, a longtime assistant football coach and baseball head coach at Hilltop High School, and Pugh, a former athletic director at San Ysidro High School and Cougars head football coach from 2006-09, served as spotters for electronic media at the game.
Gritts served a similar role with the Chargers for 19 years; Pugh has attended more than 20 Holiday Bowl games.
Pugh got a first-hand look at Barry Sanders during the 1988 Holiday Bowl game before Sanders went on to stardom in the NFL with the Detroit Lions (1989-98).
Sanders, the 1988 Heisman Trophy winner, rushed for 222 yards and scored five touchdowns for Oklahoma State in just three quarters to leave his imprint on the San Diego turf.
“I enjoy watching college football games,” Pugh said. “It’s exciting with the band and all the enthusiasm.”
The 2017 game between Michigan State University (No. 16) and Washington State University (No. 18) marked the bowl’s first match-up of teams ranked nationally in the top 20 since 2008.
But it largely proved to be anti-climactic as Michigan State trounced the Cougars 42-17 in front of 47,092 fans.
The game was memorable, however, to the large number of San Diego County high school alumni who made a holiday homecoming.
Washington State featured seven San Diego County players on its roster, including four from East County environs. Linebackers Jahad Woods and Mason Vinyard represented Helix High School in the game while wide receiver Dezmon Patmon and linebacker Dominick Silvels) represented Patrick Henry High School.
Other county prep products included offensive lineman Cedric Gigge-Duren from Oceanside High School; wide receiver C.J. Dimry from La Costa Canyon High School; and cornerback Darrien Moulton from Temecula Chaparral (a county native).
Woods and Patmon both earned starting assignments for Washington State in the bowl game.
Patmon, a sophomore, registered four catches for 38 yards, including one grab for 17 yards.
Woods, a redshirt-freshman, was credited with three tackles.
Game on
Washington State entered the game with a fierce passing attack that threatened to make Swiss cheese of Michigan State’s solid defense that had recorded 28 sacks and 13 interceptions.
But it was the Cougars who were left scratching for answers following the lopsided loss.
The Spartans (10-3) made their first Holiday Bowl appearance a memorable one for their large legion of fans who were escaping the ravages of a winter freeze in the Great Lakes region.
The temperature at kick-off at SDCCU Stadium was 66 degrees; the temperature in East Lansing, Mich. on game day was 9 degrees.
Washington State quarterback Luke Falk, a redshirt-senior from Logan, Utah, finished the season with 4,497 passing yards (374 yards per game) and 35 touchdowns. He set Pac-12 and WSU career records for passing yards (14,486), passing touchdowns (119), total offense (14,086), plays (2,306), completions (1,404), attempts (2,055) and 300-yard games (30) while setting the WSU record for wins by a quarterback with 27.
Earlier in the month, Falk was the recipient of the Burlsworth Trophy, which is given to the top college FBS football player who began his career as a walk-on.
Falk topped Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner, to win the 2017 Burlsworth Award.
But Falk did not play a down in the Holiday Bowl game due to an injury to his non-throwing wrist.
Instead, Michigan State sophomore signal-caller and first-year starter Brian Lewerke proved to be the game’s passing star with 213 yards and three touchdowns. Lewerke earned offensive MVP honors as the Spartans rolled over the Cougars with 440 offensive yards to record their fifth bowl victory in seven years.
Michigan State tied a school record for most points in a quarter in a bowl game with its 21 points in the second quarter.
Cody White caught two of Lewerke’s TD passes while Felton Davis scored on a 49-yard bomb. L.J. Scott rushed for 110 yards and scored two touchdowns.
Lewerke also rushed for 73 yards in the game.
Michigan State senior linebacker Chris Frey earned the game’s defensive MVP honors. He tied for the team lead with six tackles in the game and also recovered a fumble to set up the Spartans’ fifth consecutive touchdown in the contest.
WSU sophomore quarterback Tyler Hilinski collected 272 passing yards with two touchdowns and one interception in his first career start. He threw a pair of late TD passes to Tay Martin after Michigan State had piled up a 35-3 lead.
The Cougars finished the season 9-4.
Most inspirational
Every year the Holiday Bowl features a most inspirational high school football player award presented by Dr Pepper. Cathedral Catholic High School senior Brycen Newman received the 2017 honor and was presented with a $2,000 scholarship award on the field during a game break.
The Dr Pepper Most Inspirational Player program aims to recognize a San Diego County high school football player who, through their presence, actions and words of encouragement, serves as an inspirational example to their teammates.
A two-sport athlete, playing on both the baseball and football, Newman was diagnosed with brain cancer following his freshman year.
Cathedral Catholic head coach Sean Doyle noted in Newman’s nomination application how the young student became such an inspirational person on campus.
“His incredible strength, fortitude and positive outlook throughout the surgeries and chemo motivated his teammates and classmates to drive to be their best,” Doyle said. “Brycen’s story and strength quickly spread throughout the whole school. The entire community quickly came together to pray for, support and help carry Brycen through this unfortunate journey in his life.”
Newman began finding ways to support other cancer victims, among them starting the Kids Cancer Awareness Club at Cathedral Catholic High School.
He has remained part of both the school’s football and baseball teams, and even suited up for the last regular season game of his senior year. He continues to serve as a source of inspiration for his teammates and coaches.
“When presented with the devastating news, Brycen chose to take his diagnosis and use it as a platform to inspire his teammates and community,” explained Mike Utke, Division Manager, Dr Pepper. “He is truly a deserving winner of this award, and we are excited to help him with his academic pursuits moving forward.”
Extra points
The Holiday Bowl donated $47,000 to Biz Kid$ as this year’s beneficiary.
The Emmy award-winning comprehensive financial literacy program teaches kids how to use credit wisely and educates them on the importance of saving, budgeting, investing and giving back to their communities. One dollar from each ticket sold to this year’s game was donated to help provide financial education programs to local students.
For more information visit www.HolidayBowl.com.
Bowl central
San Diego State University ended its season 10-3 following a dramatic 42-35 loss to Army West Point in the 2017 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl played Dec. 23 in Ft. Worth.
The Aztecs led 35-28 after Rashaad Penny’s fourth touchdown of the game with 5:47 to play.
However, the Black Knights (10-3) drove 72 yards for a matching touchdown on a one-yard run by Darnell Woolfolk with 18 seconds remaining to trim the score to 35-34. Kell Walker then added a go-ahead two-point conversion run for a 36-35 lead.
Army sealed the comeback win with a defensive touchdown on the final play of the game.
The final seconds were hectic.
SDSU attempted a series of laterals after taking the ball at the 40-yard line but Army’s Elijah Riley grabbed the ball and returned it 29 yards for the final score in the game.
Penny rushed for 221 yards in the loss. He scored on an 81-yard on his first carry and added scoring dashes of 31, 49 and four yards.
Juwaan Washington scored on a 78-yard kick-off return just before halftime to account for the Aztecs’ other touchdown in the game.
Army otherwise controlled the game with its run-oriented option offense. The Black Knights reeled off 91 plays to the Aztecs’ 30 and held possession of the ball for 46:00 compared to 13:53 for San Diego State.
“That’s our brand of football,” Army head coach Jeff Monken told the media. “We don’t have anybody like they have — when you break through the line, it’s six points.”
The Aztecs, meanwhile, benefitted from quick strikes. Quarterback Christian Chapman completed just six passes for 25 yards in the game that featured 695 net rushing yards between the teams.
Penny finished with a school-record 2,248 rushing yards this season, breaking last season’s record by Donnel Pumphrey, now with the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I thought our offense played well and obviously Rashaad and Juwan had a great night,”’ SDSU coach Rocky Long told reporters after the game. “I think our defense played really, really poorly. And that’s coaching, so that’s my fault.
“ We had some chances to put the game away just like they did and we didn’t win it. So there are no excuses for not winning but obviously, we’re disappointed.”
“I’m so disappointed and frustrated that we didn’t get the win,” Penny said.
Woolfolk and quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw each scored two touchdowns to lead the Black Knights, who tied a school record for wins set by the 1996 team.
Bradshaw rushed for 184 yards and scored two touchdowns but completed one pass for six yards.
Army totaled 440 net rushing yards to 255 for the Aztecs.
The teams were tied 21-21 at halftime.
SDSU true freshman Tariq Thompson (St. Augustine), who was recently named to the 17th annual Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-America team, finished the game with nine tackles, including seven solo stops.
“It was a good year,” Long summed up. “I never thought I’d be disappointed with a 10 wins. But whenever you end the season with a loss, I’m just disappointed about everything.”
National champions
Fourth-seeded Alabama defeated third-seeded Georgia, 26-23, in overtime in Monday’s FBS college football national championship game in Atlanta.
Both teams recorded upsets in the semifinals to reach Monday’s Division I college football title game. Georgia defeated second-seeded Oklahoma, 54-48, in overtime in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 while Alabama topped top-seeded Clemson, 24-6, in the Sugar Bowl later that evening.
The Crimson Tide trailed the Bulldogs, 20-10, entering the fourth quarter in Monday’s national championship game. Alabama tied the game on a 30-yard field goal by Andy Pappanastos and a seven-yard pass from true freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to Calvin Ridley to send the game into overtime.
Rodrigo Blankenship put Georgia ahead, 23-20, on a 51-yard field goal as the Bulldogs received the first possession in overtime.
The Crimson Tide pulled out the dramatic comeback win – Alabama head coach Nick Saban’s sixth national championship (tying legendary ‘Bama coach Bear Bryant) – when De’Vonta Smith scored on an arcing 41-yard pass from Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa, who threw for 166 yards and three touchdowns after entering the game at halftime, earned offensive player of the game honors.
The Crimson Tide finished the season 13-1 as national champions; the Bulldogs finished 13-2.
