SAN FRANCISCO – Monterey and St. Ignatius played their hearts out on a windy Saturday afternoon at J. B. Murphy field, but only the Toreadors left brokenhearted, as the Wildcats prevailed, 28-21, in a tightly contested battle.
St. Ignatius senior quarterback Ryan Hagfeldt threw three touchdown passes, including what proved to be the game-winner, a 77-yard pass to Chad Johnstone.
“It was awesome,” said Hagfeldt. “No better environment than to play here at SI with my teammates. It was an awesome day.”
Late in the fourth quarter, Monterey running back Akili Jones found a gap in the Wildcat defense and sprinted 72 yards for a touchdown to give Monterey a 21-20 lead. SI had taken a 20-14 lead in this back-and-forth affair on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Hagfeldt to Peter Aliman, but a missed extra point left the Wildcats vulnerable.
After Jones gave the Toreadores the fourth-quarter lead, the Wildcats responded immediately on the next possession with the Hagfeldt-to-Johnstone strike. And when Brian Vollert rumbled into the end zone for the two-point conversion, they led 28-21. Vollert finished with 100 yards rushing.
Monterey drove deep into SI territory on its final possession, but a fourth-down pass by Carter Aldrete was ruled incomplete in the end zone and the Wildcats were able to run out the clock.
The Toreadores started strong as the sensational Jones ran untouched on the second play from scrimmage for an 85-yard gallop to make it 7-0. The junior running back finished with 244 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
“(Jones) had a couple of good runs,” Monterey head coach Tom Newton said after the game. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.”
In the second quarter, Hagfeldt hit wide receiver Danny Conte for a 5-yard touchdown pass to tie up the game 7-7. Hagfeldt finished 7-for-24 with 143 yards and 3 touchdowns.
On the very next possession, SI cornerback Freddie Gaines picked off Aldrete’s pass, which was tipped by the intended receiver. Gaines took it back for a pick-six, putting SI up 14-7, and swinging the momentum firmly in the direction of the Wildcats.
Near the end of second quarter, Aldrete bounced back from a string of Monterey mistakes, finding Matthew Wright wide open downfield for an 80-yard touchdown pass, tying the game at 14-14. Aldrete completed 8 of 17 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown.
“It’s obviously great we get to move on and advance,” said SI head coach John Regalia. “It feels good that we were able to do that against a good team.”
SI will move on in the CCS Division III playoffs and pay a visit to Pioneer (9-2) Friday at 7:00 p.m.
“Pioneer is a good team. They’re the number one seed for a reason,” said Regalia. “I expect them to be another very good opponent. We’ve got to be very well prepared and ready this week to be able to execute at their place.”
