St. Augustine High School junior quarterback Angelo Peraza just can’t bring himself to watch game-deciding plays.
In fact, as his fellow Saintsmen lined up to defend a two-point conversion attempt by the Helix Highlanders in a bold bid to erase a tenuous 21-20 St. Augustine lead overtime in last Saturday’s San Diego Section Division I championship game, he lined up facing an overflow gathering of supporters at Southwestern College’s DeVore Stadium.
“I had my back to the play; I like to watch the reaction of the crowd instead,” the St. Augustine signal-caller explained. “When I saw the fans go off like that (in celebration), it was the happiest moment of my life. It was amazing.”
Indeed it was.
The fourth-seeded Saints (10-3) won in dramatic fashion when the third-seeded Highlanders (8-5) failed on the two-point conversion attempt. The Scotties fumbled the snap and the Saints recovered the ball to secure their first section championship since 2014 when they defeated Mission Hills, 26-19 to win the Division I championship, also at Southwestern College.
The Saints topped Mission Bay, 49-0, to claim the Division II championship in 2013 at then Qualcomm Stadium.
Peraza and nine fellow South County Saintsmen soaked up the delirious win with their teammates in front of more than 8,000 fans.
The 2018 CIF championship was a blessing to everyone associated with the program.
“It’s way more than us,” Peraza underscored. “It’s about the whole community. It’s about everyone … the students at our school, our teachers, our families, our fans and alumni, our coaches …
“Our coaches put in endless hours. We have the best coaching staff in the county.”
Fellow South County Saintsman Sergio Bermudez echoed those sentiments.
“It’s amazing,” the junior receiver said. “Nobody believed in us at the beginning of the season. Our head coach (Joe Kremer) was a first-year coach for us, no one knew what he could do.
“This is a real brotherhood. We all play like a family, like brothers. We had confidence in ourselves but outside people didn’t believe in us.
“We had a strong start (4-0 with three shutout wins) but then we lost to Helix (35-14 on Sept. 14). We had a difficult task ahead of us (after suffering back-to-back losses to Cathedral Catholic and Madison in the middle of the season). But we were a different team the rest of the season.”
Indeed, a young St. Augustine team that features just 15 seniors on a roster of 72 players picked itself up to close out regular season play on a winning note. The victory over an exceedingly strong Helix squad was the fifth straight for the Saints.
Peraza, an alumnus of St. Rose of Lima School in western Chula Vista, completed 15 of 30 passing attempts for 147 yards with one touchdown and a 75.3 quarterback rating. He threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Samuel Scaife III with 1:39 left in the third quarter to put the Saints up 12-7.
Peraza then scored on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt to extend his team’s lead to 14-7. Peraza ran left with the ball but kept the option and dove into the end zone to double the Saints’ lead.
The Highlanders tied the game 14-all when junior quarterback Delshawn Traylor (14 carries, 46 yards) dove into the near corner of the end zone with 8:27 to play in the fourth quarter.
Defense determined the final outcome in the Saints’ favor.
It appeared Helix might strike for the game-winning points after driving to the St. Augustine 31-yard line in the dying moments of the game. However, former Eastlake Panther Elelyon Noa, the team’s junior standout rusher, was thrown for a loss on a fourth-down-and-one play to end the threat.
The regulation portion of the contest ended with the Saints recording a quarterback sack deep in Highlander territory.
St. Augustine went first in the overtime tiebreaker. Starting at their own 25-yard line, the Saints picked up a first down on a pass from Peraza to sophomore Byron Cardwell (17 carries, 72 yards) to the 10-yard line.
Cardwell bulled his way to the five-yard line and then carried the ball to the one-yard line before finally scoring on a sweep play to the left side of the field.
The kicking game is not well developed at the high school level and coaches seem to be relying on fourth-down conversions more and more in recent years.
The Saints, in fact, were forced to go for the two-point conversion on their second touchdown when freshman Dominic Gross hit the upright on the team’s first touchdown — a three-yard run by Cardwell with 4:53 to play in the third quarter — that left them trailing 7-6 on the scoreboard.
St. Augustine, however, elected to go for the extra-point attempt in overtime and Gross converted for a 21-14 lead.
Helix then received the ball at the 25-yard line. A pair of Noa runs moved the ball to the 18-yard line. But rather than attempt another run, the Highlanders shocked everyone in the stadium by employing a trick play on third down.
Junior receiver Tim Christopher took a hand-off and veered to the right, lofting an arching pass into the end zone where senior teammate Chris Rivera caught it for a touchdown running through the end zone.
The Highlanders kicked the extra point when junior Elijah Laing split the uprights out of the hold by senior Chase Osborn. However, Lang was hit on the play to draw a roughing the kicker penalty.
Instead of accepting the extra point and moving into a second overtime, Helix head coach Robbie Owens elected to take the point off the scoreboard and, with the ball moved to the one-yard line on the penalty, sent his team back on the field to attempt a two-point conversion in a bid to win the game outright.
The Highlanders lined up for the run, with extra players in the backfield in an effort to cause a guessing game as to exactly which player would receive the hand-off. But the play never developed as the Scotties were unable to execute a clean snap and the ball landed on the turf.
When St. Augustine senior William Simon finally gained control of the ball under a pile of players, the game ended with the Saints in front 21-20.
“The snap was bad,” recounted St. Augustine lineman Walter Pongia, a senior captain, who is counted among the team’s South County brethren. “Our defense came out and put a stop, and we came out on top. It’s crazy.”
The defenses of both teams made a statement. St. Augustine senior J.T. Penick punted the ball seven times for a 34.6-yard average while Helix junior Ja’hari Hills punted six times for a 34.7-yard average.
Gross averaged 51.3 yards on three kick-offs while Laing averaged 46.7 yards on three kick-offs.
Noa, who rushed for 340 yards and scored five touchdowns in Helix’s 68-7 quarterfinal playoff win over Grossmont and tacked on 293 rushing yards and four more touchdowns in a 42-26 semifinal win over Metro-Mesa League champion Eastlake, entered the CIF championship game with 2,180 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns.
He scored on a one-yard run with 6:50 left in the first quarter as the Scotties grabbed a quick 7-0 lead. But a lingering injury suffered in the win over Eastlake hampered his running as the game went on.
The Saints held Noa to 146 yards on 24 carries, including a 51-yard burst. However, he was not able to showcase the consistent breakaway running that had characterized his play all season.
He scored on runs of 50, 63, seven and 62 yards to end Eastlake’s season in the semifinals.
Owens called Noa the best player on the field. However, Noa never got to handle the ball on the play called to win the game.
Owens stuck by his gutsy call, noting his team is one never to shy away from a challenge.
“Our coaching staff, everyone, kind of wanted to go for it there,” the Helix sideline boss said. “We got the penalty, so we figured we could get one-and-a-half yards. At the end of the day it was a great football game and we came up a little bit short.
“As I told the guys, a yard-and-a-half has to be a motivator for our young guys and our older guys got to learn from this experience, and the season and everything that we went through.”
St. Augustine players pointed to the early season loss to Helix as a great motivating tool.
“We knew Helix would be there at the top at the end of the season and we had to be prepared,” said Peraza, who passed for 200 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the Saints’ 16-13 semifinal game victory against Mission Hills. “Everyone had to be focused and everything had to be perfect.
“Our defense played well and we were able to come back.”
Bermudez had one catch for 10 yards in last Saturday’s CIF final. Tyson McWilliams led St. Augustine with eight catches for 72 yards.
Defensively, Penick led the CIF champs with 19 tackles in the win over Helix while teammates Eavan Gibbons and Connor Heffler each recorded 16 stops.
Jake Cavanagh, Malcolm Williams and Michael Ambagtsheer each had one sack while McWilliams had three passes defended.
Senior Cole Barry averaged 22 yards on two kick-off returns.
Helix out-gained St. Augustine 268-208 in total offensive yards. The Highlanders held a wide edge in rushing yards (229-61) while the Saints owned the airwaves with a 147-39 advantage.
Next level
St. Augustine advances to play Simi Valley’s Grace Brethren (12-2) in Friday’s Southern California Division 2-AA regional championship game at Cal Lutheran University.
The winner will play the Northern California regional champion for the 2-AA Division state championship Dec. 14 at Cerritos College.
The Saints are one of six San Diego Section champions to advance to the regional finals after winning divisional championships over the past two weekends.
Other San Diego Section champions advancing to the state playoffs included Cathedral Catholic (Division 1-AA), Lincoln (Division 3-AA), Morse (Division 4-AA), San Diego (Division 5-AA) and Orange Glen (Division 6-A).
Peraza enters Friday’s regional championship game having passed for 2,396 yards with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 13 games this season.
Bermudez has 18 receptions for 178 yards and one touchdown. Scaife leads the team with 48 catches for 807 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Other South County Saintsmen include junior receiver/defensive back Isaac Alvarez, Malcolm, senior defensive back/running back Ricky Castro, junior linebacker/tight end Joseph Crawford, junior lineman Fabian Alvarez, senior center Moses Mercado, sophomore guard Tangitangi Pongia and Williams, a sophomore linebacker/running back.
Williams has logged 70 tackles, 4.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries nd one blocked field goal in 12 games this season. He’s scored and two touchdowns — one rushing and one on a fumble recovery.
Daniel Amon, who transferred from Eastlake to Helix prior to the start of the season, completed one of five passing attempts for 20 yards in the championship game.
On the season, he recorded 933 passing yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions while rushing for negative 42 yards.
City beat
This year’s section finals were all about the City Conference and, in particular, teams from the San Diego Unified School District. Seven City Conference teams filled 12 of the divisional slots in the championship round, with five winning division championships, including three of the five from the San Diego school district.
Two of the division finals were all-San Diego district match-ups. Lincoln defeated Mira Mesa, 23-3, to win last Friday’s Division II championship while San Diego topped Kearny, 42-14, to win the preceding Division IV title.
Morse upset previously undefeated Central Union, 22-16, to claim last Saturday’s Division III championship.
Cathedral Catholic (Open Division) and St. Augustine (Division I), both from the City Conference, also won division banners.
The CIF title was the first for Morse since 1994, the first for Lincoln since 2012 and the first for San Diego in school history.
The across the board success by San Diego city schools comes in contrast to cut-backs in freshman and junior varsity sports.
“We don’t have the funding that some have, so we have to work hard,” San Diego head coach Charles James said. “It was an amazing year for all the schools to have.”
Morse had been the regional powerhouse before charter schools and private schools began to siphon talent from the southeastern San Diego school. Now the balance appears to be shifting back to attending one’s neighborhood school.
“It tells our kids it pays to stay home,” Morse head coach Tracy McNair said. “The challenge is overcoming the negative image about inner city schools. We’re showing you can go to your neighborhood school and get a good education and be successful on the athletic field.”
Lincoln has become used to winning championships in South County. The Hornets won team titles the past two years at the Tony Jefferson Battle of Champions seven-on-seven passing tournament at Eastlake High School. Lincoln defeated Torrey Pines to win the team title at July’s South County passing tournament at Southwestern College.
The Hornets put together the whole package this season to claim the Division II title.
Interestingly, all three coaches — Lincoln’s David Dunn, Morse’s McNair and San Diego’s James — are Morse graduates.
“We support each other’s programs,” explained Dunn, who wore a Morse alumni t-shirt at the Morse-Central Union championship game.
San Diego finished runner-up in last year’s Division IV championship game in the school’s first trip to the section finals since 1969.
“After last year, we had to win it,” Caver senior Daniel Thomas said. “There was no other way.”
The surprising success wasn’t limited to just the inner city region. Orange Glen won its first section title in 51 years when it topped Francis Parker, 34-14, last Friday at Otay Ranch High School.
All five City Conference section champions earned berths in this weekend’s Southern California regional championship games
Cathedral Catholic (11-1) will host Harbor City Narbonne (10-3) in a Division 1-AA playoff game Friday, Nov. 30, at 7:30 p.m.
San Diego (10-2) will host Temecula Linfield Christian (13-1) on Saturday in a Division 5-A game. Kick-off is 6 p.m.
St. Augustine, Lincoln and Morse will all have road games on Friday, Nov. 30.
St. Augustine (10-3) will meet Simi Valley Grace Brethren (12-2) in a Division 2-AA game at 7:30 p.m. at Cal Lutheran University.
Lincoln (10-4) will play at Culver City (12-2) in a Division 3-AA game at 7:30 p.m.
Morse (10-4) will play at Visalia Central Valley Christian (11-2) in a Division 4-AA game at 7:30 p.m.
Additionally, Orange Glen (9-3) will host Los Angeles Locke (10-4) in a Division 6-A game on Saturday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m.
Stat attack
The Lincoln defense limited highly mobile Mira Mesa quarterback Noah Tumblin (2,818 yards in total offense entering the final) to 46 passing yards and negative 33 rushing yards. He was sacked six times and intercepted once.
The Hornets limited the Marauders to 89 yards overall.
Lincoln accumulated 256 yards in total offense. Carlito Nothaft (20 carries, 81 yards) and Kenneth Stevenson (five carries, 27 yards) each scored rushing touchdowns while Keyshawn Smith had two catches for 50 yards, including a touchdown.
Daniel Domingo accounted for Mira Mesa’s lone points in the game on a 37-yard field goal.
Isiah Thompson (31 carries, 166 yards) scored two touchdowns to key Morse’s upset victory against the last remaining undefeated San Diego Section team. Devin Brown scored a defensive touchdown when he returned an intercepted pass 55 yards for a score to stake the Tigers to a 16-0 lead.
Thadeo Campbell (four catches, 82 yards) scored both touchdowns for Central Union, which drove into Morse territory in the final minute seeking a win but was denied on a quarterback sack on fourth down.
The Tigers out-gained the Spartans 294-251 in offensive yards. Morse rolled up 302 rushing yards on 62 plays to just 59 yards on 21 plays for the Imperial Valley team. Shamar Martin rushed 21 times for 105 yards.
Deniro Osuna completed seven of 24 passing attempts for 179 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions in the setback.
The Tigers recovered two fumbles in the game — one each by Michael Wright and Rayvvon Benson.
Brown led Morse with 10 tackles. The Tigers had three sacks, including one by Courvasier Irby for 10 yards.
Central Union registered nine tackles for a loss but was unable to record a quarterback sack. Jonathan Jazek led the Spartans with 12 tackles.
San Diego, which made amends for last year’s 71-48 championship game loss to Monte Vista, out-gained Kearny 297-229 in total offensive yards, holding a 184-124 edge in rushing yards and a decided advantage – 113 to 32 – in passing yards.
Raiden Hunter (14 carries, 52 yards) led the Cavers with two touchdowns while four other players each scored one touchdown: Jayden Wickware (13 carries, 21 yards), Shairohn Ramsey (11 carries, 46 yards), Mo Jackson (six carries, 36 yards) and Jaliel Jackson. Emilio Hernandez was successful on six extra-point conversions.
Wickware completed two passes for 66 yards while Hunter and Quinn O’Connor each completed one pass. Jaliel Jackson scored on a 50-yard interception return.
Devon Jones and Hyaden Lundy scored touchdowns for Kearny. Duce Reynolds led the Komets on the ground with 96 yards on 14 carries while Kenyon Reynolds completed seven passes for 105 yards.
Lundy had one catch for a 50-yard touchdown in Kearny’s first CIF finals appearance since 1977.
Orange Glen was making its first trip to the championship round since 1990. The Patriots turned it around in big fashion after finishing 1-9 in 2017.
Cael Patterson led the offensive attack for Orange Glen with 213 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Big plays defined the Patriots’ victory. Quarterback Ethan Villalobos (124 passing yards) connected with Moray Steward on an 83-yard touchdown pass while Christian Gonzalez-Torres (45 yards) and Dylan Ewing Villalobos (52 yards) each returned intercepted passes for touchdowns.
Orange Glen intercepted Francis Parker quarterback Ryan Sanborn three times and recorded five quarterback sacks. Sanborn finished the game with nine completions in 24 passing attempts for 146 yards and 12 carries for 21 yards.
Sanborn and teammate Sam Camposeco each scored one rushing touchdown for Parker.
San Diego Section Division I Final
Photo Gallery by Jon Bigornia
Regional championship playoff field set
The matchups for the 2018 CIF SoCal Regional Football Championship Bowl Games are set following the placement of the Los Angeles City Section, San Diego Section, Southern Section, and some Central and Sac-Joaquin Section Championship teams. Games will be held Friday-Saturday, Nov. 30-Dec. 1, at various host sites. Please see below for schedule and game locations.
The NorCal Regional Football Championship Bowl Games participants will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 2, along with the Open State Football Championship Bowl Game matchup.
The following is the schedule for the 2018 CIF SoCal Regional Football Championship Bowl Games for Divisions 1-AA through 7-AA. Winners from the NorCal and SoCal Regional games will advance to the CIF State Football Championships representing their respective divisions for the title of CIF State Champion on Dec. 14 or 15.
All teams were slotted based on competitive equity and the respective criteria.
OPEN DIVISION – Saturday, Dec. 8 at 8:00 p.m.
South: Mater Dei
DIVISION 1–AA
South: Narbonne at Cathedral Catholic – Friday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION 1–A
South: Sierra Canyon at Upland – Saturday, Dec. 1 at 6:00 p.m.
DIVISION 2–AA
South: St. Augustine vs. Grace Brethren at Cal Lutheran University – Friday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION 2–A
South: Lawndale vs. South Hills at Covina District Stadium – Friday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION 3–AA
South: Lincoln, San Diego at Culver City – Friday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION 3–A
South: Eisenhower at Kaiser – Saturday, Dec. 1 at 6:00 p.m.
DIVISION 4–AA
South: Morse at Central Valley Christian – Friday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION 4–A
South: Kennedy, Delano at Garfield – Saturday, Dec. 1 at 6:00 p.m.
DIVISION 5–AA
South: Western at San Gorgonio – Friday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION 5–A
South: Linfield Christian at San Diego – Saturday, Dec. 1 at 6:00 p.m.
DIVISION 6–AA
South: Adelanto at Strathmore – Friday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION 6–A
South: Locke at Orange Glen – Saturday, Dec. 1 at 6:00 p.m.
DIVISION 7-AA
South: Santee – Bye
North: Denair – Bye
State: Santee at Denair – Saturday, Dec. 1 at 6:00 p.m.
Tickets for the 2018 CIF Regional Football Championship Bowl Games are available at host sites. Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for high school students (with a valid ASB card), seniors (65-over) and children.
