SAN FRANCISCO - Cole Davis did it all for Live Oak on Friday night. In the first half, the senior intercepted two passes to keep the fifth-seeded Acorns within seven points at halftime despite being tripled in yardage by Sacred Heart Cathedral. In the second half, he ran for 199 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 1:03 left, as Live Oak knocked off the fourth-seeded Fightin’ Irish at Kezar Stadium, 28-21.
It was a tale of two completely opposite halves on Friday night on a rare fogless evening at Kezar. SHC outgained the Acorns 393-128 in the first half and at one point held a 245-0 yardage advantage, but a pair of red zone interceptions by Davis and two turnovers on downs kept Live Oak within striking distance at halftime.
Ironically, the Irish were stopped twice in the red zone and twice more in Live Oak territory, yet scored on touchdowns of 90 and 93 yards. The 90-yard score was from Will Irons to Aréon Mitchell, and Irons connected with LeVar Watkins Jr. on the 93-yard pass after Live Oak finally found its land legs, engineering a 75-yard drive to tie the game at seven on Caleb Ojeda’s five-yard run.
Already leading 14-7, the Irish reached the red zone once again the waning moments of the half, but Davis’ second interception kept the Acorns within one score at the break despite the massive disparity in yardage.
The second half was a complete reversal of the first. After the SHC passing attack dominated the first 24 minutes, Live Oak (7-4) took control in the second half behind Davis. Just as his red zone interception on the opening drive set the tone for the first half, his five-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 14 dictated the pace for the second. SHC did respond on the following possession when Irons and Mitchell teamed up again for a 19-yard touchdown, but it was the final time the Irish would score.
Davis did fumble at the end of a 23-yard run, one of his longest on the night, but it was merely a slight delay to the Acorns’ efforts. Rather than play for the first down, Live Oak reached for the stars on fourth-and-three and it paid off, with Jonathan Singleton finding Christian Guarry for a game-tying 33-yard touchdown pass with 10:03 to go.
Jake Saltonstall’s sack, one of five Live Oak sacks on the night, stalled the following Sacred Heart drive at midfield, and Davis took charge from there.
Over the course of the five-minute drive to finally give the Acorns the lead, Davis carried the ball eight times for 71 yards. His 31-yard run brought Live Oak across midfield, his 10-yard run on third-and-seven gave the Acorns a first-and-goal, and his 10-yard run on the following play gave Live Oak the lead with 1:03 to go, the first lead of the night for the Acorns.
Mitchell gave SHC great field position with a 49-yard kick return, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, one of two against the Irish in the final minutes, took away any remaining momentum and ultimately led to an incompletion on fourth down.
Naturally, Davis was tasked with putting the game away, and he did so with a pair of runs for 12 yards and the clinching first down.
“We just kept going back to these two plays, and they didn’t know what to do,” said Davis. “Might as well take advantage of that and keep driving on it.”
After racking up 50 yards on just six first-half carries, Davis ended the night with 249 yards on 32 rushes.
Just how different were the two halves? The Fightin’ Irish nearly doubled Live Oak’s time of possession in the first half, but the teams ended up nearly even for the game. After SHC picked up 14 first downs in the opening 24 minutes to Live Oak’s eight, the Acorns moved the sticks a whopping 17 times in the second half and held the Irish to just five first downs.
“We just had to keep our eyes on the prize,” said Anthony Avilla, who had three of Live Oak’s five sacks. “I consider all of these guys my brothers.”
Sacred Heart Cathedral (6-5) not only tripled Live Oak’s yardage in the first half, the Irish outgained the Acorns 553-421 for the game, including 422-105 through the air. Even in the second half, they outpassed Live Oak 144-42. However, Live Oak absolutely dominated the running game in the second half, 251-16.
For all of the differences between the two halves, Irons and Mitchell were a major factor throughout the night. Irons completed 17 of 36 passes for three touchdowns and an unbelievable 422 yards, and Mitchell had seven catches for 219 and a pair of scores.
Despite the heartbreaking end, Barry McLaughlin’s first season as Sacred Heart Cathedral’s head coach was a roaring success by most measures. The Fightin’ Irish beat both St. Ignatius and Riordan for the first time since 2011 and finished fourth in the WCAL to earn an automatic playoff berth.
“We did a lot of good things,” said McLaughlin. “This one stinks. It’s frustrating, it hurts, but we’ll move forward.”
The uphill climb may be tougher for McLaughlin in his second year. Irons and Mitchell headlined a senior class that made up the bulk of the roster, and the JV team’s roster was decimated by injuries to the point that they forfeited their final three games. However, lead rusher Anthony Heard (15 carries-76 yards on Friday), Watkins Jr. and Ryan Daly headline the underclassmen.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from McLaughlin’s first year shouldn’t be roster numbers, or even wins and losses. There was a marked culture change at Sacred Heart Cathedral, as evidenced by the spirited crowd that showed up at Kezar on Friday night.
“We changed the culture in practice,” said Irons. “Things were more disciplined and we cared about one another.”
While the Irish will turn in their gear and Watkins Jr. and Amin Oglesby will turn their attention to the basketball court, Live Oak will prepare for top-seeded Half Moon Bay (11-0). Half Moon Bay, which pulled away late in a 38-20 win over Burlingame, will host the Acorns next Friday at 7 pm.
