SAN JOSE — To Thomas McKeon, the field goal attempt hung in the air for decades.
St. Ignatius trusted the senior kicker from 40 yards out in a tie game in the final seconds on Saturday at San Jose City College. And not just any tie game — the Central Coast Section Division II championship game against the Wildcats’ biggest rival of well over a century.
And McKeon rewarded his team’s faith. The kick snuck just over the crossbar between the uprights, giving No. 1 seed SI a 24-21 victory over Sacred Heart Cathedral and its second straight section title.
“Right as I kicked it, I was like, ‘It’s straight enough, but does it have the leg?’” McKeon said. “All my brothers came onto the field. It meant the world to me. The whole season built up to that moment.”
It was a game the No. 2 seed Fightin’ Irish certainly believe they should have won. The Wildcats (7-6) scored just one offensive touchdown while SHC (6-7) had no trouble moving the ball on the ground. But several key plays on special teams, along with a big defensive touchdown that Fightin’ Irish coach Antoine Evans took the blame for, ended up being the difference.
The first big special teams play, though, went SHC’s way. Elliot Beach recovered a fumbled punt to give the Irish the ball in plus territory, and while it took them 11 plays and more than six minutes to pay it off, they did punch the ball in with Michael Sargent’s quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal for an early 7-0 SHC lead.
“We saw things during the week. We knew we were going to have some real success with what we saw on film and with the front they were running,” Evans said. “We knew we were going to have some success on the ground. Those guys up front did a good job executing in the run game the whole day.”
The Irish started across midfield on their next drive as well, but a blocked field goal by Ty Hicks kept it a one-score game. SI evened the score in the final minute of the first half on Steve Malone’s short touchdown run, Malone’s fourth touchdown of the postseason and fifth of the year.
SHC nearly retook the lead heading into the locker room, advancing to the Wildcats’ 27-yard line before Sargent found Valentino Fierros just short of the goal line on the final play. But Charlie Ball’s strong tackle kept Fierros out of the end zone and kept the game tied. Not only would it be a sign of big things to come for Ball, but it also led into an explosive play right out of the half.
Hawkes Packard outraced the entire Fightin’ Irish coverage team and returned the post-halftime kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, turning on the afterburners as he gave SI its first lead of the day.
“We know what we have in him, and it was about getting our best players touches,” Wildcats head coach JaJuan Lawson said. “We had our best guy on a unit where we thought we had an advantage, and he (proved) us right.”
SHC responded quickly. Elijah Araya returned McKeon’s kickoff across midfield, and the Irish needed just five plays to find the end zone on a 7-yard pass from Sargent to Zion Secrease. Then, after an 11-play, 64-yard, five-minute drive that bridged the third and fourth quarters, SHC pulled back in front on a screen pass from Sargent to Chase Jenkins, who used shifty footwork to turn the play into a 13-yard touchdown.
The Irish looked poised to put the game away after their defense backed up the score with a three-and-out. But they kept their offense on the field for a fourth-and-6 at the Wildcats’ 45, and Ball read Sargent’s eyes perfectly, intercepting the pass in stride and racing down the field untouched for a game-tying pick six.
“We called a blitz on that play and we were manned up,” Ball said. “I knew it was going to come out to the one side on that slant, and I jumped it.”
Eager to erase the bad taste of the turnover from their mouths, the Irish faked a punt on their next drive from their own side of the field. Jack Farrell was having none of it, snuffing the play out for a loss and setting up McKeon’s game-winning field goal.
SI moves on to the NorCal Division 3-AA title game, where the Wildcats will host Monte Vista-Danville on Friday night.
“That game felt indicative of our whole entire season. Starting off slow, finding our footing, battling back and then just being able to finish,” Lawson said. “(It’s great) to see it come full circle from where we started to where we are now, and to keep playing. This one was great, and you want to go back-to-back, but now (we have) the chance to go to regionals and see what we can do with that next step.”
Taufoou leads Serra past Los Gatos for Division I title
The No. 2 seed Padres used their double-wing offense, known as the “Raider” formation, to great effect in a 28-21 victory of the No. 3 seed Wildcats on Friday night.
Serra (8-5) threw the ball just once, an 11-yard completion from Caleb Bandel to Charlie Walsh. Andrew Takapautolo led the Padres with 22 carries for 142 yards, but it was Taufoou, the double-wing quarterback, who rushed for a pair of touchdowns, including the go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter. His interception on Los Gatos’ final drive then sealed the game.
Callum Schweitzer, in his final high school game, was 11-of-19 passing for 159 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 28 yards and another score on seven carries.
Serra visits St. Mary’s-Stockton in the NorCal Division 2-AA championship game on Friday night.
Dacey’s big night powers Menlo-Atherton over San Mateo
Bears senior quarterback Teddy Dacey threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another as M-A won the CCS Division III title with a 31-21 win over the Bearcats, who had reached the title game as the No. 8 seed.
Leading by 10 at halftime, the Bears (7-6) put the game away with two more long touchdown drives, making it hard for San Mateo (9-4) to run its triple-option offense. The Bearcats lost quarterback Lukas Fitzgerald in the third quarter to a knee injury and managed a pair of touchdowns in quick succession in the fourth before M-A ran out the clock.
The Bears started 0-4 with a brutal non-league schedule, but have played their best football of the year down the stretch. They host El Cerrito in the NorCal Division 4-A title game on Saturday evening.
Phillips goes off as Lincoln rolls over Branham
Kyan Phillips ran wild in a battle of San José public schools and BVAL-Mount Hamilton rivals for the Division IV championship, rushing for 255 yards and six touchdowns on 25 carries to lead the No. 3 seed Lions over the Bruins, 49-21.
Top-seeded Branham (7-6) did not have the full services of its own star running back as Michael Murphy was limited significantly by a calf bruise. Murphy carried just once, on a play that was called back due to a holding penalty, and the Bruins’ defense had no answers for Phillips, who now has 1,603 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns in 13 games.
Lincoln (10-3) hosts undefeated Gridley in the NorCal Division 6-AA championship game Friday night. This was the first-ever section title for the Lions, who historically opted out of the playoffs to face rival San José in the Big Bone Game on Thanksgiving.
Piedmont Hills takes overtime thriller from Sobrato
The No. 1 seed Pirates stopped the Bulldogs’ two-point conversion attempt in overtime to seal a 31-30 victory Saturday afternoon and claim the Division V crown.
John Palomo’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Diego Arias gave Piedmont Hills (10-3) the lead in the extra session. Palomo completed 20 of his 28 passes for 211 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Neither team led by more than seven at any point, and the game was tied four separate times.
The Pirates head on the road to face San Francisco Section champion Balboa on Saturday in the NorCal Division 7-A title game.
