The opening round of the San Diego Section football playoffs always proves a bit unpredictable, especially with teams that appear to be playing their best at the end of the season.
The Bonita Vista Barons and Morse Tigers squared off Friday at Southwestern College with much to prove – both to themselves and to the seeding committee. The Barons went 4-1 in the second half of regular season play while the Tigers overcame an early 0-4 start with four wins in their final six games.
Sixth-seeded Bonita Vista appeared to have the early momentum in taking a 7-0 lead over the 11th-seeded Tigers in their Division III first round match-up. But as the game progressed, one got the distinct impression that the visitors were gaining the upper hand.
Morse had the final say, winning by a 14-7 score in the overtime tie-breaker.
Fast starters
BV quarterback Anthony Posada hit Jake Rozar on a 40-yard bomb late in the opening quarter to position the ball at the Morse six-yard line. Posada then followed with a six-yard scoring pass to teammate Chris Boguille. When Lloyd Alexander split the uprights on the extra-point conversion, the Barons had a 7-0 lead with 3:01 to play in the quarter.
While the Barons owned an advantage in the size department, bigger didn’t necessarily prove to be better.
After going up, the hosts had to turn in some heroics to keep the Tigers out of the end zone the rest of the game.
Morse tied the game, 7-7, on a 14-yard run by Deion Williams with 3:10 remaining in the first half.
The Barons, meanwhile, were forced to play deep within their own territory.
A Tiger punt penned Bonita Vista at its own five-yard line. Only a fumble by Khyran Jackson-Barbee on the ensuing punt from the end zone kept the Tigers from gaining great field position.
Morse did eventually force another punt by the Barons and advanced the ball to the BV 10-yard line before female place-kicker Maia Pangelinan missed a 25-yard field goal attempt.
The score remained tied 7-all the rest of regulation play, but not for a lack of action — mostly on the part of the Tigers.
A 52-yard cross-field run by Jackson-Barbee put the ball at the Bonita Vista five-yard line early in the fourth quarter. But four tries at breaking the goal line left Jackson-Barbee stranded at the one-yard line after a great defensive stand by the Baron defense.
But, once again, the BV offense was facing the length of the field to navigate. And the Baron defense was back on the field after only one play when Posada was intercepted by Morse’s Daquirae Irby.
The Tigers resumed activities at the BV 30-yard line. The visitors advanced the ball to the 20-yard line with 5:00 left in the game before the Baron defense once again forced a turnover on downs.
But Posada was unable to move his team and, after being sacked on third down, the Barons promptly punted the ball back to the dangerous Jackson-Barbie.
Boguille’s punt, however, traveled just 18 yards to give the Tigers superb field position at the BV 42-yard line.
The Tigers made a habit of gambling on fourth down throughout the contest. Facing fourth and one with 1:06 to play, Jackson-Barbee got enough yards to keep the drive going.
However, Jackson-Barbee was sacked on the ensuing play to apparently drive Morse backward from the goal line. But yellow flags continued to rain from a cloudless sky, and a 15-yard penalty on the play, brought the ball back toward the endzone.
Jackson-Barbee’s yardage on second-effort was amazing throughout the game, especially in the latter stages, and it was his ability to bounce off tackles that drove the hosts into fits. A meandering run by Barbee landed him at the Bonita Vista five-yard line with 3.7 seconds to play.
It appeared the Tigers had run out of time to get off another play. But an injury time-out allowed the Morse field goal unit to set up for the potential game-winning field goal attempt.
Pangelinan’s 22-yard kick was long enough and the cheerleaders on the Morse sideline began to celebrate before the officials ruled it just wide.
That set up the overtime tiebreaker, and it was time for Jackson-Barbee to continue to shine. The Tigers had managed to move the ball all throughout the second half and it was no different in the overtime possession as Barbee scored from two yards out to give Morse a 14-7 lead.
The Barons received the ball next and drove to the goal line before being thrown back for a loss at the one-yard line on fourth down, ending the game and advancing the Tigers to the division quarterfinals.
Morse (5-6) will play at third-seeded Sweetwater (10-0) in next Friday’s Division III quarterfinal match-up. The winner advances to the division semifinals on Nov. 28.
Bonita Vista ends its season 5-6 with a lot of frustration.
The Barons, the runner-up in the Metro-Mesa League this season, had worked hard to earn the No. 6 seed in the division but, other than Posada’s surprise 40-yarder in the opening quarter, just couldn’t move the ball on offense.
That wasn’t a problem for Jackson-Barbee, however, as he finished the night with 230 rushing yards while masquerading as a one-man wrecking crew.
BV coach Chris Thompson was complimentary of his team in defeat.
“I was proud of the kids’ effort and I want to thank the seniors for laying the foundation of our future success,” Thompson said. “Morse did a nice job of keeping the ball away from us but injuries finally took their toll. The silver lining is we will line up a bunch of kids who have played. We expect to play for a championship in 2015.”
Around the section
Overall, six lower-seeded opponents won games in Friday’s opening round of playoff games. Moreover, three of the four first round games in the Division III field went to the lower-seeded team.
Most notably, ninth-seeded Francis Parker upset eighth-seeded Monte Vista, 41-21, in a while 10th-seeded La Jolla upended seventh-seeded Santa Fe Christian, 54-17, in another Division III clash.
Francis Parker (6-5) advances to meet top-seeded Hoover (8-2) in the quarterfinals while La Jolla (6-5) will take on second-seeded Christian (10-0). Monte Vista finished the season 6-5 while SFC finished 5-6.
The Sweetwater-Morse winner advances to meet the La Jolla-Christian winner in the division semifinals on Nov. 28.
In Division V, fifth-seeded La Jolla Country Day (5-6) walloped fourth-seeded Maranatha Christian (7-3) by a score of 61-21 while 11th-seeded Coronado (4-7) edged sixth-seeded Orange Glen (6-5) by a score of 24-20 in a Division IV match-up.
In Division II, 11th-seeded Scripps Ranch (5-6) upset sixth-seeded Valley Center (6-5) by a 27-20 score.
In Division IV quarterfinal games on Nov. 21, second-seeded Mater Dei Catholic (5-5) will host seventh-seeded Clairemont (5-6) while fourth-seeded Castle Park (7-3) will host fifth-seeded University City (7-4). Both games kick off at 7 p.m.
The Castle Park-University City game is a rematch of last year’s playoff meeting that went to host UC by a score of 20-0. The Trojans will be looking to reverse that score on their home field this year.
Of the four South County teams in action on Friday, all four came up on the short end of the stick.
Eleventh-seeded Olympian (4-7) dropped a 35-14 decision to sixth-seeded Vista (6-5) in a Division I first round encounter while 10th-seeded Otay Ranch (5-6) lost to seventh-seeded Lincoln (6-5) by a 48-25 score.
Olympian shaved Vista’s lead to 21-14 at one point before the Panthers regrouped with the final two touchdowns of the game.
Otay Ranch was unable to control the Hornets’ breakaway speed.
Also, Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy (5-3) saw its season end with a 34-26 quarterfinal loss to defending Division V champion Holtville (8-3) on Friday.
San Diego Section Playoffs
Division I
First Round
Friday, Nov. 14
(8) Grossmont 57, (9) Westview 34
(5) Point Loma 47, (12) Mt. Miguel 35
(6) Vista 35, (11) Olympian 14
(7) El Camino 31, (10) Valhalla 17
Division II
First Round
Friday, Nov. 14
(8) Mt. Carmel 39, (9) Del Norte 33 (OT)
(5) West Hills 41, (12) Imperial 27
(11) Scripps Ranch 27, (6) Valley Center 20
(7) Lincoln 48, (10) Otay Ranch 25
Division III
First Round
Friday, Nov. 14
(9) Francis Parker 41, (8) Monte Vista 21
(5) Granite Hills 55, (12) Patrick Henry 28
(11) Morse 14, (6) Bonita Vista 7 (OT)
(10) La Jolla 54, (7) Santa Fe Christian 17
Division IV
First Round
Friday, Nov. 14
(8) El Cajon Valley 49, (9) Horizon Christian 34
(5) University City 45, (12) Calexico 13
(11) Coronado 24, (6) Orange Glen 20
(7) Clairemont 28, (10) Southwest El Centro 13
Division V
Quarterfinals
Friday, Nov. 14
(1) Holtville 34, (8) Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy 26
(5) La Jolla Country Day 61, (4) Maranatha Christian 21
(3) Classical Academy 13, (6) Tri-City Christian 10
(2) Vincent Memorial 24, (7) Crawford 15
