The Christian High School Patriots football team has become accustomed to winning over the past two seasons. In fact, when the Pats defeated the top-seeded Hoover Cardinals, 31-9, to win the San Diego Section Division III championship game Dec. 6 at Southwestern College, it was the team’s 20th consecutive victory — the section’s longest active winning streak.
The win over Hoover landed Christian, the No. 2 seed in the section’s division playoffs, a berth in last Friday’s Southern California regional championship bowl game against St. Margaret’s of San Juan Capistrano at Granite Hills Hugh School.
The game, pitting a pair of undefeated opponents, was dampened by first-half rain showers, and ultimately dampened the Patriots’ perfect 13-0 season as St. Margaret’s strode off the field with a 48-21 victory.
St. Margaret’s (15-0) advances to play Northern California regional champion Modesto Central Catholic (11-3) in Friday’s Division IV State Bowl championship game at the StubHub Center in Carson. Kick-off is 4 p.m.
Christian ends its season 13-1.
It was a disappointing ending for three of the Pats’ South County players in particular: xxx Nick Sexton, xxx William Hail and xxx Christian Yaotani. All were members of last year’s Division III section championship squad, and helped lead the team to another division title this year.
But they were unable to find success in the school’s history-making first trip to the state playoffs.
Sexton caught a 69-yard scoring pass with 15.2 seconds left in the first half to help his team get back in the game after trailing 28-7.
The Patriots would score again to cut the Tartans’ lead to 28-21 when Adrian Petty scored on a 21-yard run in the early moments of the third quarter.
But the San Juan Capistrano team would cut short the host’s inspirational rally to place their stamp firmly on the game by scoring two touchdowns in a span of 59 seconds later in the quarter to take a commanding 42-21 advantage on the scoreboard.
Christian entered the game ranked first in the state among Division IV teams, and St. Margaret’s certainly played up to that level in knocking the Pats off their exalted pedestal.
In speaking to the media after the game, Sexton echoed what coaches said along the sideline: The Pats entered the game overconfident.
“They came from a whole different area, they weren’t from San Diego, and we didn’t know that much about them,” Sexton related. “They were a great team, we underestimated them definitely. We were going to make history by going to state, but we didn’t. We were overconfident. Maybe another Christian team can do this in the future, but it wasn’t going to be us.”
God had other plans for the Pats, Sexton noted, and the team has accepted that.
Still, it was a remarkable season.
Section champions
Sexton scored on a 79-yard catch-and-carry from quarterback David Todd Jeremiah to spur Christian to its section title win. The play proved to be the turning point in the game as the Patriots put together a big second-half effort to overturn a 9-8 Cardinal lead.
Sexton’s long TD sprint put Christian up 14-9. Adrian Petty then scored on a six-yard run to up the score to 21-9 at the end of the third quarter. The Patriots added 10 more points in the final quarter: Kyle Thompson kicked a 39-yard field goal and Petty tacked on an eight-yard scoring run.
Petty rushed 26 times for 92 yards while returning two punts for 96 yards. He finished the game with three touchdowns — two rushing and one on the kickoff return.
Jeremiah completed eight of 10 passing attempts for 132 yards. Sexton had two catches for 85 yards while Trevor Howell had three catches for 38 yards.
Defensively, Ethan Contreras had one interception while Joey Morones had one fumble recovery. Thompson averaged 40 yards on three punts.
The first half ended 8-3 in Christian’s favor. Luis Aparicio kicked a 23-yard field goal to put the Cardinals (8-4) up 3-0 in the first quarter. But the Pats came back with a two-point safety by Brandon Hester and a 77-yard kick-off return by Petty in the second quarter.??Jaquille Bradford scored on a one-yard run to put Hoover back on top 9-8. However, Sexton’s breakaway score proved to be the catalyst for the Patriots in scoring the come-from-behind victory to extend their winning streak to 20 games.
End of the road
As for last Friday’s state regional game, nothing seemed to go right for the hosts from the outset.
St. Margaret’s blocked a 25-yard field goal attempt by Thompson after the Pats had methodically driven to the Tartans’ six-yard line. On the very next play, St. Margaret’s quarterback George Krantz hit teammate Auston Locke on a pass over the middle, and Locke proceeded to zip through the Christian secondary en route to a breakaway 94-yard touchdown reception.
The Patriots had consumed more than eight minutes in cobbling together their 19-play drive while the Tartans’ scored on just one play.
Christian rallied to tie the game, 7-7, thanks in huge part to a fake punt perfectly executed by Petty, who hurdled his way over would-be tacklers down the sideline for a 33-yard gain. Howell then caught a third-down seven-yard pass for the equalizing touchdown.
But the Tartans’ trademark of quick strikes continued. It took just two plays for the visitors to go back on top, with Oscar Gomez traveling the final 21 yards on the ground after a 55-yard pass completion to Nick Shanks.
Locke later caught a 30-yard scoring pass to up the St. Margaret’s lead to 21-7 with 4:17 left in the second quarter. Fernando Delgado followed with a 20-yard TD catch for a 28-7 lead with 3:00 left in the opening half.
After Petty’s TD run narrowed the score to a single touchdown with 7:27 left in the third quarter, Howell intercepted a pass at the Tartans’ 36-yard line and suddenly all the momentum in the game seemed to belong to the hosts.
But it proved short-lived. Taylor Freitas intercepted a fourth-and-16 pass for St. Margaret’s with 3:37 left in the quarter. It took only 24 seconds for the Tartans to score the back-breaker as Shanks hauled in a 68-yard touchdown pass.
35-21 Tartans.
St. Margaret’s drove the final nail into the Patriots’ coffin when Shanks returned an intercepted pass 54 yards for a score with 2:38 remaining in the quarter.
42-21 Tartans.
St. Maragaret’s tacked on a pair of field goals to win in a romp to advance to the state championship game. It is the second SoCal regional title for the Tartans after first claiming the title in 2008.
St. Margaret’s defense made a statement with five interceptions in the game. Krantz passed for 365 yards, including 232 yards and three touchdowns in the first half.
Jeremiah attempted 57 passes in the game and completed 29 for 285 yards while Petty rushed 27 times for 136 yards, Sexton had six catches for 106 yards and Howell had 11 catches for 73 yards.
Christian rolled up 465 total offensive yards but only scored three times. The Tartans collected 477 total yards and six TDs, plus two field goals.
The loss ended the Pats’ 25-game home winning streak. Christian head coach Matt Oliver remained proud of his team, telling them they battled hard but came up just a little “short” of their goal to reach the state title game.
State bowl finals
Christian was one of three San Diego Section champions to qualify for this year’s state regional championship playoffs. While the Patriots’ season ended with the loss to St. Margaret’s, both Oceanside (Open Division section champions) and El Capitan (Division II section champions) both will play for state championships this weekend.
Oceanside topped visiting Fresno Edison, 37-22, in a Division I regional state playoff match-up last Friday while El Capitan shut out Paso Robles, 41-0, the following evening to advance to the Division III state championship game.
Oceanside (14-0) will face nationally-ranked Folsom (15-0) in Friday’s Division I state bowl football championship game. Kick-off is 8 p.m.
El Capitan (14-0) will test Northern California regional champion Moraga Campolindo (15-0) in Saturday’s Division II title game. Kick-off is noon.
Both games will be telecast by Times Warner Cable, the state’s TV rights-holder.
Oceanside will be making its third trip to the state championship game after winning the 2007 and 2009 state bowl games.
This will be El Capitan’s first trip to a state bowl championship game.
The Vaqueros captured a gritty 14-7 contest from Rancho Bernardo in the section finals and, after being stopped on fourth-and-goal by Paso Robles (13-2) in last weekend’s state regional playoff battle, rode rough-shod over the Central Coast Section champions the rest of the way.
El Capitan, cheered on by what some observers tabbed the largest crowd in school history (likely the loudest), scored 28 points in the second quarter to blow open the game. Isaiah Capoocia scored on a one-yard run; he then returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown. D.J. Smith followed with a 77-yard interception return and quarterback Brad Cagle found Frankie Lima in the back corner of the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown reception.
The Vaqs, who led just 3-0 after the first quarter, led by a score of 31-0 at halftime.
Head coach Ron Burner, named this year’s San Diego Chargers High School Coach of the Year, called the regional championship game victory “pretty awesome.”
“We’re playing one more game and playing for the state championship in Carson,” an elated Burner told a KUSI-TV news crew after the game. “It can’t get any better than that.”
Oceanside head coach John Carroll termed his team’s accomplishment “incredible.”
The Pirates dominated the first half of last Friday’s regional contest, bulling to a 30-6 halftime lead.
Josh Bernard got Oceanside rolling on a one-yard touchdown run. Malavai Taylor then blocked a punt out of the end zone for a safety and the Pirates scored on the ensuing free kick, with QB Matt Romero firing a 19-yard scoring pass to John Grumbling.
Bernard answered back following an Edison touchdown with a four-yard touchdown run and then tacked on a two-yard scoring run for his third TD of the half.
Romero, who amassed a career-high 336 passing yards, connected with Grumbling again on a 21-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.
Isai Paopao and Jordan Miller each had picks for the Pirates while Amadeo West had two sacks.
Edison (12-2) scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to take a bite into the large Oceanside lead.
SCHEDULE SET FOR 2014 CIF STATE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BOWL GAMES PRESENTED BY FARMERS
Seven of Ten Teams Returning to State Championship Bowl Games
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Following CIF State Regional Bowl Game play, the schedule is now finalized for the 2014 CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games presented by Farmers. The games will be held Friday-Saturday, December 19-20, at The StubHub Center in Carson and will be broadcast LIVE and streamed online by Time Warner Cable. Seven of the 10 teams participating will return to the State Championship Bowl Games, with a combined 20 appearances and 12 wins amongst those participating since the inception of the State Bowl Games in 2006.
OPEN DIVISION: De La Salle, Concord vs. Centennial, Corona
Saturday, December 20, at 8:00 p.m.
De La Salle (13-0) is making their ninth appearance in as many years in the State Championship Bowl Games. The Spartans will be playing in their sixth consecutive Open Division game and vying for their fifth Open title after losing 20-14 to St. John Bosco last year.
Centennial (12-2) is making their fifth appearance in the State Bowl Games and second in the Open Division title game. The Huskies will face De La Salle for the second time, after losing 48-28 to the Spartans in the Open Division Championship in 2012.
DIVISION I: Folsom vs. Oceanside
Friday, December 19, at 8:00 p.m.
Folsom (15-0) defeated Grant 52-21 in the NorCal Division I game and is searching for their second State Bowl Championship after winning the Division II title in 2010.
Oceanside (14-0) won the SoCal Division I game 37-22 over Edison. The Pirates are currently 2-0 in State Championship Bowl games taking the Division II title in 2007 and the Division I title in 2009.
DIVISION II: Clayton Valley Charter, Concord vs. Redlands East Valley
Saturday, December 20, at 4:00 p.m.
Clayton Valley Charter (15-0) is making their first State Championship Bowl Game appearance after a 28-7 victory over Oakdale in the NorCal Division II game.
Redlands East Valley (14-1) defeated Ridgeview 59-42 in the SoCal Division II game and is also making their first State Bowl Game appearance.
DIVISION III: Campolindo, Moraga vs. El Capitan, Lakeside
Saturday, December 20, at 12:00 p.m.
Campolindo (15-0) defeated Sutter 35-14 in the NorCal Division III game and is making their second State Bowl Championship appearance after accepting the runner-up title in the 2011 Division III game.
El Capitan (14-0) is making their first State Championship Bowl Game appearance after defeating Paso Robles 41-0 in the SoCal Division III Championship.
DIVISION IV: Central Catholic, Modesto vs. St. Margaret’s, San Juan Capistrano
Friday, December 19, at 4:00 p.m.
Central Catholic (11-3) defeated Capital Christian 35-14 in the NorCal Division IV game and will be playing for their third consecutive Division IV State Bowl Game crown. The Raiders are 2-1 all-time in State Bowl games.
St. Margaret’s (15-0) won the SoCal Division IV crown with a 48-21 victory over Christian. The Tartans return to the Division IV State Championship Bowl Game, for the second time, after claiming the title in 2008.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for the 2014 CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games Presented by Farmers are available at participating schools, StubHub Center Box Office, and StubHubCenter.com
Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for high school students (with a valid ASB card), seniors (65+) and children. All tickets are for general admission seating and are valid for all games on a single day. Two tickets would be required in order to attend at least one game on each day.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television
Time Warner Cable will broadcast all five contests LIVE. All Friday games will air on TWC Community and all Saturday games will air on TWC SportsNet.
Additionally, Time Warner Cable will stream the games LIVE on www.TWCcommunity.com.
