PACIFICA, Calif. - After a slow offensive start in the first quarter by both teams, the game seemed to be headed in the direction of a defensive standoff. While Terra Nova kept their heads on defensively, intercepting Seaside twice along with recovering four fumbles, a 79-yard touchdown run by running back Jalen Camp late in the second quarter opened up the Spartans' defense, allowing the Tigers to advance to the second round of the playoffs with a 35-9 victory.
“We told ourselves before the second half that we were going to win this game, and the line knuckled down, the receivers knuckled down and picked up their blocks and got me the openings so I could just hit it,” Camp said.
Not only did Camp have a 79-yard touchdown, but he also ran for over 300 yards and four touchdowns, including a touchdown run from 88 yards out.
The scoring started off in an unconventional manner, with a botched Tiger snap sailing past quarterback Raphael Bendo out of the back of the end zone for a safety, giving the Spartans a 2-0 lead. Fumbled snaps seemed to be a recurrence, as the Spartans punter dropped the snap in the end zone, and Dimitri Fabiani-Wyatt recovered for a Tigers touchdown. After Bendo threw an interception, the Tigers forced a punt which set up Camp’s 79-yard touchdown run, his first of four.
Just before the half, Spartan running back Treyvon Campbell took a pass for about 30 yards for a touchdown, and set the score at 14-9. The Tigers’ defense would not allow the Spartans to score again.
“The defense was huge, because we sputtered at the start offensively. We came back because the defense kept us in it and kept giving us good field position,” said Terra Nova coach Jason Piccolotti.
Coming out of halftime, the Tigers got back to work, and Camp scored again on a 36-yard rush with just under four minutes left in the quarter. A few drives later, the Spartans seemed to have a chance at getting back in the game after a 40 yard run by quarterback Tristan Cortez, but dropped passes by receivers forced a punt.
“The drops took us out of our tempo, our rhythm, and we couldn’t sustain a drive, and that hurt,” said Seaside coach Alfred Avila.
Terra Nova quickly capitalized on the change of possession, as three plays later Camp took the ball 88 yards for his third rushing touchdown of the game. After Terra Nova forced a fumble on the Spartans' next drive, they went right back to punishing the defense on the ground. Camp ran the ball 42 yards on two plays, scoring his fourth and final touchdown on a seven-yard rush.
“We thought we could run the ball against these guys, and it took us a little longer than we anticipated, but the guys up front kept grinding and pounding the ball and we wore them down and popped a couple ones,” Piccolotti said.
The Tigers would go on to win the game 35-9, and will face Burlingame in the semifinals, after the Panthers dispatched Mountain View.
“We need to carry over the effort, because there was a lot of effort from everybody today, and stay hungry to get the win,” Camp said.
The Spartans are eliminated after a 9-1 regular season, as their defense was unable to contain Terra Nova’s run game in the second half.
“Our defense in the first half only gave up that one big run, and that was it. We didn’t feel their run fit and they ran it through the gap and all the way down the field, and that was all we gave up in the first half. The second half just got ugly,” Avila said.
