Thrilling finishes were the rage around the North Coast Section on Friday night, as Monte Vista and Freedom sent their visitors back home stinging from last-second losses, and Bishop O’Dowd became the third team on the road to taste defeat, falling to host Will C Wood in Vacaville.
Falcons stun Dons with a little ‘Streetball’ . . . When Amador Valley drove 74 yards to score what appeared to be the game-winning touchdown with 23.8 seconds remaining, it looked like a case of déjà vu for host Freedom. The Falcons had dropped consecutive contests to the Dons in 2012 and 2013, after holding early leads in both games, and had lost four of their last five games against Amador Valley.
Freedom maintained its composure, however, and dug into its bag of tricks, electing to throw over the middle of the field rather than towards the sideline or deep down the field. The Falcons call it ‘Streetball’, though to many it is more recognizable as the Boise State ‘Circus’ play that brought the Broncos back to beat Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.
Quarterback Joe Sweeney connected with sophomore receiver Baylei Coston across the middle, who then delivered a perfect soft pitch to Dominic Dominguez, as he was crossing the field from the opposite side of the formation. Dominguez accelerated to a full sprint as the ball was delivered, and outran the Amador Valley secondary down the left sideline for the 62-yard game-winning touchdown with nine seconds left in the game.
“As soon as they scored, we all knew we were going to run that play,” said Freedom coach Kevin Hartwig. “A lot of things had to go right for it to work, a lot of moving parts that all came together. All 11 players were involved, and they all executed perfectly.”
The final touchdown for the Falcons spoiled what had appeared to be a great comeback for the Dons, who had trailed 24-14 with 6:03 remaining before mounting consecutive scoring drives. Tailback Ledre McCullough was a major factor in both drives, hauling in a 32-yard reception from Ronnie Jones during Amador Valley’s first scoring drive, which consumed all of 1:19 off the clock, and breaking loose for a 35-yard run on the drive which gave the Dons their first lead of the game.
Haener to Banda leads Mustangs past Pirates . . . If any doubt remained around the Bay Area that junior quarterback Jake Haener could lead Monte Vista to a victory in a big game, that doubt was erased by Haener’s 326-yard, six-touchdown performance against a Pittsburg defense that shutout California in its season opener.
Haener’s 17-yard touchdown pass along the right sideline to Trae Banda gave the Mustangs a 49-42 lead with 31 seconds remaining, and finished a 90-yard scoring drive after Monte Vista had stopped Pittsburg from scoring on its previous possession. Senior quarterback Christian Young tried gamely to rally the Pirates in the closing seconds, but time ran out on a Pittsburg offense that put up 631 yards of its own.
In a game of ebbs and flows for both sides, the two teams waged against each other like a pair of boxers who refused to go down. Three straight Pittsburg scores in the third quarter erased a 21-14 halftime deficit, but a Haener to Banda touchdown cut the Pirates’ lead to 35-28 entering the fourth quarter. Haener then connected with Banda and Albert Smith for scores to make it three straight touchdowns for the Mustangs, and a 42-35 Monte Vista advantage.
Young once again rallied the Pirates, finding TJ Roberts for the 40-yard touchdown, his second scoring pass of the night to Roberts. Young finished the game with 407 yards passing and four touchdowns, while junior running back Montaz Thompson ran for 166 yards and two scores. Pittsburg then had an opportunity to take the lead, facing fourth and one from the Mustangs’ ten-yard line, but the home team held firm and set the stage for the game-winning drive.
Dragons see familiar result in battle with Wood . . . If Friday night’s conclusion felt familiar to the Bishop O’Dowd sideline, there was good reason for it, as the Will C Wood Wildcats rallied for a win in the final seconds over the Dragons for the second consecutive year. This one just had a bit more offense to it than last season’s 21-17 final score.
Wood quarterback Marcus Howard found Arthur Jackson for a one-yard score with six seconds remaining, lifting the home team to a thrilling 49-45 victory, driving 66 yards in the final 2:39 to escape with the win. Howard finished the game with 371 yards and five touchdowns passing.
The Wildcats faced a crucial fourth-and-two on the final drive, from the Bishop O’Dowd 45-yard line, but were able to convert when Howard connected with Jackson for a 19-yard completion.
Bishop O’Dowd’s Nick Allen followed up a four-touchdown performance against Tamalpais by throwing for five scores against Wood.
Not as close as we expected . . . Two of the games we had profiled as NCS Games of the Week quickly became one-sided affairs, as Moreau Catholic capitalized on three early turnovers by Piedmont to rout the Highlanders, 55-9, while Miramonte shook off an early 3-0 deficit to race past Windsor, 40-3.
“The early deficit made them one-dimensional with the pass,” said Moreau Catholic coach Andrew Cotter. “Piedmont is a way better team than the score indicated. There is a very good chance we will see them again down the road, and they’ll come after us.”
Moreau Catholic’s Jullen “Booda” Ison ran for 167 yards with six touchdowns, and the Mariners held Piedmont to 50 total yards of offense. The Moreau lead was 27-0 after one quarter, and 48-6 at halftime.
In Windsor, the Jaguars took an early 3-0 lead on a 40-yard field goal from Dalton Mullins, but the Matadors roared back with 40 unanswered points. Tim Tague threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns for Miramonte, two of them to Ryan Anderson. Clayton Stehr also scored three times in the win.
