CAMPBELL - As the Aptos players hugged, congratulated, and embraced one another on a dimly-lit field following a heartfelt, emotional speech from their coach Randy Blankenship, one fitting word came to mind for all who were witness to the remarkable game they had all just seen: destiny.
“Being able to stand on this field knowing that we showed all the critics who the best team really was, and won this title that everyone on this team has wanted for so long, it’s truly something special,” Aptos senior quarterback Alex Joh said.
The Mariners entered this section title game against the St. Ignatius Wildcats considered underdogs by many, but left Westmont High on Friday night as the undisputed CCS DIII champions, following a 41-35 win over the Wildcats.
Joh, who finished 6 of 11 for 186 yards and four touchdowns, led a passing attack that while not used extremely often, was tremendously effective.
“It’s something that we always know we have the option to go to, if the game plan asks for it,” Joh said. “Our receivers did a good job of getting into space throughout the game, and we just did our jobs from there.”
Joh had great chemistry with his receivers throughout the night, but it was two defining plays, a 78 yard pass to senior tight end Jon Bol with 6:17 left in the first quarter, as well as a 48 yard connection with junior running back Austin Verdugo mid-way through the third quarter, that kept the momentum going the Mariners' way for most of the game. The other two touchdown passes were to junior tight end Ben Romero early in the fourth quarter (25 yards) and to junior Running Back Charlie Mehl (18 yards) with only seconds left in the first half.
Finishing tackles quickly became a nagging problem for the Wildcats the entire night, as many Aptos plays were extended due to a failure to wrap up.
“They did a really good job hurting us when we were on defense,” said star S.I. running back Elijah Dale. “We just didn’t get the job done the way we knew we needed to.”
Dale (29 carries, 157 yards, four touchdowns), St. Ignatius’ all-time leading rusher and touchdown scorer, was the offensive standout for the Wildcats throughout the game, and eventually became the catalyst that sparked a comeback late in the fourth quarter, that made this championship game a whole lot more interesting.
With 3:51 left in the game, junior fullback Louie Demicell burst into the end zone for Aptos from 17 yards out, putting it up 41-21, a seemingly insurmountable lead with so little time left in the game. Though what looked to be turning into a runaway championship game, suddenly turned into an all-time great.
Following the Aptos touchdown, S.I. stormed down the field. Junior quarterback Ryan Hagfeldt (19-31 on the game, 148 yards, TD, 3 interceptions) completed 8 of 9 passes on the drive. Even when Elijah Dale rushed into the end zone from four yards out to bring S.I. within two scores (41-28) with 1:30 left in the game, the Aptos lead still seemed secure.
But after S.I. recovered a beautiful onside kick, Hagfeldt assumed the role of field general, leading his team down the field again, eventually hitting S.I.’s all-purpose yards leader, Joe Lang, on a 20 yard throw, bringing S.I. within 6 points with only 24.6 seconds left. On the play, Lang split the grasp of two defenders, reversed field, and beat the defense down the sideline, adding allure to an already crazy comeback attempt.
For a special teams unit, recovering an onside kick once is tough enough as it is, but after S.I. recovered a second consecutive onside attempt, it's faithful took heart, and Aptos supporters hoped desperately their team could hang on.
But in the end, it simply was not to be for S.I. After three straight completions pushed S.I. near the Aptos 45 yard-line with around 12 seconds left, an errant throw from Hagfeldt was picked off by Dalton Weitzel, who secured the interception and ultimately the win, for the victorious Mariners.
Weitzel had an amazing 10 interceptions for the season.
“Once we got that second onside, our sideline was going crazy,” said Lang. “We were what, down 20 points with just over three minutes left? The fact that our team was able to fight through that adversity, even in a loss, shows how resilient this group is. Give credit to Aptos, their team did a fantastic job on defense all night. Even in the loss it was a great game to be a part of.”
“During that comeback, there were definitely some players who were starting to get nervous on the sideline,” said Joh. “It was our job as seniors to make sure they all kept their focus, because we knew how important the last few minutes were to the outcome of this game.”
After the clutch interception, all it took was one more Aptos victory formation, and players, parents, and most Mariners fans swarmed the field to celebrate their first CCS title since 2003.
“Our motto this entire season has been to “take a stand and leave a legacy”. To be able to look out across this field and to know that our team was able to give these seniors a win in their last ever high-school football game, that’s tremendously special,” Blankenship said. "The relationships this team has made this year, that’s what football is all about.”
