SAN FRANCISCO - St. Ignatius and St. Mary’s-Stockton played a tense game on a foggy Saturday afternoon in the Sunset District.
In the end it was St. Ignatius senior kicker Andrew Ferrero booting home a field goal in each overtime, the second one a 26-yarder that pulled out a 27-24 come-from-behind double overtime victory.
“I’ve been waiting for that for four years. I’ve been dreaming about it. I was thinking about it in the fourth quarter,” Ferrero said. “My teammates really picked me up. I just got trust in Peter Katz (holder) and Will Sweeney (long snapper). Those guys do a great job. I believe in those guys 100 percent.”
The Wildcats and the Rams renewed a series that ran from 1998-2001 in which each team won two games on the other’s field.
Saturday would prove to be the start of a new era, with SI emerging with a home victory to improve to 3-0.
Ferrero's heroics were set up by an excellent late drive by the S.I. offense. Trailing 21-13, quarterback Ryan Hagfeldt (20-for-26, 165 yards, 1 TD) led the Wildcats down the field. Dylan Elder converted a key fourth down by catching a tipped pass to keep the Cats' hopes alive.
After some clutch conversions, Brian Vollert (9 carries, 20 yards) scored to make it 21-19 with 30 seconds left. Coach John Regalia obviously called for a 2-point conversion and a tie. Hagfeldt rolled right but threw left to a wide-open Dom Burke to tie the game.
“The last drive was great. We had some great, key plays. Guys just making things happen,” Regalia said.
The Rams responded quickly despite the lack of time. Easily marching down the field, and helped by some key penalties against the Wildcats, it looked like the Rams were going to pull off a victory. However, after taking a shot in the backfield, Righetti was slow to get up.
“He kinda got a little (nicked) on his knee, but he was OK," St. Mary’s coach Tony Franks said. “He’s a tough kid.”
After the injury and two consecutive timeouts by Regalia, St. Mary’s kicker Jack Delucchi lined up for the game-winner. The Wildcats' icing strategy worked, as Delucchi missed the kick left, sending the game to overtime.
In overtime, S.I. and St. Mary’s traded blows. The Wildcats' got the ball first, and Ferrero rebounded from his earlier PAT miss with a 19-yard field goal.
St. Mary’s answered right back with a 23-yard field goal by Delucchi.
The Rams got the ball first in the second overtime, but that possession didn’t last long as S.I. defensive back Peter Katz picked off Righetti’s pass on second down.
One play later, Ferrero nailed the game-winning kick from 26 yards out, and was mobbed by his teammates.
“We have the ultimate confidence in Andrew and all our guys. We gotta sort through the ups and downs, when things work or don’t work,” Regalia said. “He did a great job of just getting in there and finishing the way we know he can, so we’re proud of him.
“We moved the ball well. We just shot ourselves in the foot with some penalties. And those are things we can control and clean up."
The Rams (2-1) struck early, scoring in the first quarter on a 57-yard touchdown run from senior quarterback Noah Righetti.
After a slow first quarter, things picked up for S.I. in the second as the Wildcats' power running back Brian Vollert bruised his way in for a 1-yard touchdown to tie the game 7-7.
Later in the second quarter St. Mary’s found itself in scoring position and Righetti passed to fellow senior Stephen Gudino to put the Rams back on top 14-7.
In the third quarter, Hagfeldt led a solid drive, capping it off with a 4-yard touchdown pass to running back Rob Meagher. However, Ferrero missed his second PAT in two weeks, which left S.I. trailing 14-13. Ferrero may not have known at that point that he would redeem himself in a big way.
The St. Mary’s offense kept rolling in the fourth. After a nice drive, Righetti ran 31 yards for his second score of the game.
The Rams will try to rebound against Los Gatos (3-0) next week.
“We just have to get back to where we’re playing well and get to where we can play good football," Franks said. "At times, we didn’t play particularly well today."
S.I. will take this huge overtime win into a bye week as it prepares for Bellarmine on Saturday, October 4. The Bells have easily won their first three games, scoring a total of 126 points.
“We want to sit down and really look at them. We’ve been playing them for years and they are very much the same they have always been. They’re strong, they’re fit, and they’re fast. They execute very well, and they’re really well coached,” Regalia said. “We got a ton of respect for Bellarmine and the coaches and players. We know that’s going to be a good one in a couple of weeks.”
