SAN FRANCISCO — The first thing St. Ignatius head coach JaJuan Lawson looks at when he scouts the Wildcats’ future opponents is their extra point and field goal operation.
Now, for the second straight week, SI has kept its improbable season alive thanks to special teams.
The Wildcats defeated Monte Vista 17-13 in the NorCal Division 3-AA title game Friday night at J.B. Murphy Field in large part because of a bad snap on a Mustangs extra point try and a blocked field goal from SI’s Ty Hicks. Meanwhile, the hosts were clean on both of their PATs, and Thomas McKeon split the uprights on a 33-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter — the Wildcats’ only points of the second half.
“The big thing for special teams, what we talked about is just being clean. Making sure we can get our kicks off, and if we see a disadvantage from their side, taking advantage of it,” Lawson said. “You can get the identity of a team just by how they prepare in (extra points and field goals). … We practice it a lot, and there’s a reason for it.”
The kicking game was going to be especially critical in a low-scoring affair that saw both teams go three-and-out on their opening drives. SI (8-6) was given new life after a muffed Monte Vista punt, but Justin Grisham’s interception on the very next play turned the Wildcats away. The Mustangs (8-6) drove into SI territory on their ensuing possession, but an interception by Luke Van De Braak with five seconds left in the first quarter gave the Wildcats the ball back.
Following that pick, SI put together one of its best drives of the season, going 87 yards in 14 plays for the game’s first touchdown. Cadeon Afsharipour completed all three of his passes on the drive, and otherwise the Wildcats kept the ball on the ground. They converted twice on third down, leading to Steve Malone’s 3-yard touchdown run on a counter play to the left.
Malone carried four straight times to finish that monster scoring drive and finished with 18 carries for 75 yards.
Following a Monte Vista punt, SI took over across midfield, and after the Wildcats picked up one first down, Afsharipour evaded a rusher and found a wide-open Zui Shelton deep downfield for a 31-yard touchdown to double his team’s lead.
“Just having our identity back,” Lawson said. “We know it, we play with it, and we don’t panic anymore. We know what we’re going to do and we’re going to have fun doing it.”
The Mustangs responded before the half, driving 66 yards in 10 plays and getting on the board with Ian Ondricek’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Caden Boscia. Monte Vista also got the ball to start the second half and went straight down the field again.
Ondricek picked up one chunk play after another with his scrambling ability, then fired a screen pass to Chase Wuischpard that the tight end turned into a 17-yard score. But the high snap on the PAT kept SI in front by one.
After McKeon’s field goal gave the Wildcats a bit of breathing room, the defense took it the rest of the way. SI stopped the Mustangs twice on fourth down in the final quarter, forcing Ondricek well outside the pocket and into high-difficulty throws.
“(Ondricek) is a damn good football player. He was a hassle for us the whole entire night,” Lawson said of the University of San Diego commit. “We know our defensive line, the second of the season, figured it out, stepped up, and they’re playing at that level.”
The Wildcats were just 2-6 heading into a game at Valley Christian on Halloween night that was essentially a play-in game for the WCAL’s final playoff spot. They won that game and have not lost since, putting their season on the line week after week and living to tell the tale.
The road ends for the first-year head coach and his SI squad next Friday night in the 3-AA state championship game against Ventura in Fullerton.
“Our minds are just so locked in. It’s playoff season. Now it’s ring season,” Lawson said. “Last year when we won CCS, we were almost content with it. NorCal was just a cherry on top. The cherry on top is winning state this year, and we understand that. We’re in December, we’re playing this long, might as well go finish the job.”
Lincoln wins first-ever NorCal game with fourth-quarter comeback
With 14 points in 16 seconds, Lincoln-San José turned a six-point deficit into a 28-20 victory over Gridley in Friday night’s NorCal Division 6-AA playoff game.
Luca Papoulias completed a 65-yard touchdown pass to Michael Whitelaw that gave the Lions (11-3) a one-point lead. Lincoln then forced and recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and star running back Kyan Phillips broke loose for a 16-yard run. In the blink of an eye, Lincoln had gone from down a touchdown to up a touchdown, and the Lions held on to defeat the previously unbeaten Bulldogs.
That long touchdown reception was part of a huge night for Whitelaw, who had 137 receiving yards on six catches. Phillips, playing through a bruised knee, rushed for 73 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.
Lincoln will face Valley Center on Friday with the first state title in school history on the line.
Riordan comes up short as backup QB leads Folsom
What was billed as a marquee quarterback duel between Riordan’s Michael Mitchell Jr. and Folsom’s Ryder Lyons instead turned when Lyons went down with an injury and backup Brody Rudnicki took over.
Rudnicki, himself a three-star recruit with nine FBS offers, helped lead the Bulldogs back from an 18-point deficit. The Crusaders, after putting up 38 first-half points, scored none in the second half in a 42-38 loss in the NorCal Division 1-AA regional game.
Mitchell, a Stanford signee, was 16-of-25 passing for 278 yards and three touchdowns in his final high school game for Riordan (12-1). Adonyae Brown rushed for 230 yards on 31 carries with three touchdowns of his own. It’s the end of the line for a historic Crusaders senior class that won Riordan’s first WCAL title since 2000 and the CCS Open Division championship as well.
Serra can’t get past St. Mary’s in 2-AA bracket
The Padres had a shot at a game-tying touchdown in the final minute as they drove inside the Rams’ 20-yard line, but a Jake Lucatello sack killed Serra’s momentum as St. Mary’s held on for a 31-24 victory.
Serra (8-6) trailed by a touchdown at halftime but rallied to take the lead heading into the fourth quarter, and the teams went back and forth down the stretch before Diego Hernandez’s short touchdown run put the Rams in front for good. Freshman William Orr completed 10 of his 16 passes for the Padres, good for 179 yards. Jace Cannon had 110 receiving yards and a touchdown on just three catches, but it was not quite enough.
Menlo-Atherton’s run ends at the hands of El Cerrito
The Bears overcame a slow start to the season against a very tough non-league schedule, then won the CCS Division III title for their first section championship since 2018, but could not close out the Gauchos on Saturday night in the NorCal 4-A championship.
Senior quarterback Teddy Dacey closed out his high school career by completing 19 of 35 passes for 185 yards, a touchdown and an interception. But El Cerrito held Menlo-Atherton (7-7) in check on the ground and hit on two explosive second-half touchdown passes to pull this one out on the road.
Piedmont Hills unable to keep up with Smith, Balboa
Star Buccaneers running back Mekai Smith stole the show again, breaking Jahvid Best’s Bay Area record for touchdowns in a single high school season, as San Francisco Section champion Balboa rolled past Piedmont Hills 38-10 in the NorCal 7-A title game.
The Pirates, the CCS Division V champions, had no answers for Smith, who broke the record on an 80-yard run in the fourth quarter for his 49th touchdown of the year. Piedmont Hills (10-4) scored its lone touchdown in the second quarter on John Palomo’s 61-yard pass to Diego Arias.
