The Archbishop Mitty Monarchs were able to rain down on Oak Grove’s undefeated parade by scoring on their first four possessions for a 24-0 victory in the CCS Open Division quarterfinal matchup Friday night. The Monarchs (8-3) advance to the semifinals next weekend and will face St. Ignatius, a 49-14 winner over Palma in another quarterfinal. The Eagles (10-1) suffered their first and only loss of the season.
“That was the most complete game I’ve seen a Mitty team play in a long time,” said the Monarchs head coach Matt Haniger. “They knew it was there. We just said it was up to you.”
The real story of last night’s game lies in the injuries throughout the Oak Grove team. With Nick Bernardo’s ankle injured last week in the regular season finale against Leland, and Chidobe Awuzie’s toe injured early in the first quarter, the Eagles offense was never able to pick up against the powerful Mitty defense.
“[Bernardo] hurt his ankle pretty bad, and I give him all the props in the world,” said Mitty’s junior Chandler Ramirez, who is actually Bernardo’s cousin. “He didn’t show it as much as I expected him to show it. I’m proud of him for that.” Ramirez ran 11 times for 36 yards and a Monarch touchdown during the game.
“I think to his defense, [Bernardo] is one of the best backs in the section,” added Haniger. “He was playing with one and a half legs.”
Late in the second quarter with Oak Grove down 14-0, the Eagles faced a third-and-5 from the Mitty 10 when a bad shotgun snap resulted in a 23-yard loss, forcing a fourth-and-28 from the 33. On the next play, quarterback Ray Cruz lofted a pass into the end zone for wide receiver Niko Randolph, but the junior was unable to pull it in. Mitty was never threatened from that point on and, in fact, extended the lead to 17-0 on a booming 40-yard field goal by Phil Langlois just before halftime.
Oak Grove opened the game with an onside kick that was recovered by the Monarchs, who then proceeded to drive the ball downfield systematically without attempting a single pass. Senior Kyle Evans capped the drive with a 13-yard run down the left side to make it 7-0 with 7:44 left in the first quarter.
The Eagles went three-and-out on the next possession and once again, Mitty established its superiority in the trenches. This time, Evans went in from one yard out to extend the lead to 14-0 with 11:32 left in the second quarter.
“I came in to play. I don’t think of those touchdowns for my personal record, but for the benefit of the team,” said Evans. “We played to get that first win, we knew they were a good team, and we just capitalized on their mistakes.”
On the next possession, Oak Grove was immediately forced to punt but Mitty was called for running into the punter to extend the drive. However, the drive fizzled on the poor snap and the Monarchs were able to put the game away.
Following an Oak Grove fumble, Chandler Ramirez scored Mitty's final touchdown on a three-yard run over the right side to make it 24-0 with 6:13 left in the third quarter.
Even with a hurt ankle, Bernardo was able to run for 44 yards on 12 attempts, while Awuzie was able to run for 38 yards on nine attempts.
“They have a bigger line, but I think we wanted it more than they did,” said senior running back Daniel Mosko. “It was just will. I don’t think I’ve ever seen our line go off as hard as they did tonight.”
The Mitty defense limited Oak Grove quarterback Ray Cruz to 5-of-9 passing for a total of 39 yards.
“They’re a run-based team, and we stopped their run, so there was nothing else do except pass,” said Evans. “We knew they were just going to pass down the stretch, so we were prepared for that. We also knew exactly when they were going to pass.”
On the other hand, Mosko gained 86 yards rushing on just nine carries, while quarterback Wyatt Hansen ran the ball for 88 yards on 12 attempts.
Although Mitty lost to St. Ignatius just last week at the end of league play, 21-6, the Monarchs are looking forward to facing St. Ignatius in the CCS semifinals next week. However, they are hoping for a different outcome.
“I think the big loss last week boosted us into the CCS playoffs,” said Mosko. “We have our set goals, and it doesn’t matter who we’re playing next week. They’re going to get the best out of us.”
On the other hand, Oak Grove’s season ends early in the playoffs.
“I’m proud of our guys,” said Eagles head coach Jay Braun. “I’m proud of our seniors. They’ve done great things this year. They’re leaving here with a 27-1 record over the last four years in the league. We have work to do, but we have something to motivate us in the off season in the weight room.”
