MILPITAS, CA -- All that was missing was the slingshot.
If it's possible to paint Bellarmine College Prep, with its 1,600 boys and trophy cases full of CCS awards, as a figurative David against Goliath this was it.
Imposing Milpitas came into Friday night's CCS Open first-round game with a perfect record, talent to burn and seven players tipping the scales at more then 250 pounds, including four over 300.
Last week Bellarmine missed a chance at a WCAL title tie by losing to Serra by 14 points. Milpitas looked like Serra's big brothers by comparison.
But sometimes David's aim is true, as it was in Bellarmine's riveting 9-6 overtime victory over the Trojans.
The Bells, trailing mighty Milpitas 6-3 in the extra period following a short Trojan field goal, got the ball on the Trojan 10 as dictated by California Tie-Breaker rules.
In just one glorious play -- if you're a Bell fan -- Bellarmine (9-2) sent two receivers to the middle of the field on slants and fullback Curt Calomeni curling out to the right flat. Calomeni reached up and made a difficult catch at the 4-yard line and then dived into the end zone for the score as the Bell sideline exploded.
The game was over, and with it Milpitas' hopes of an Open title, an unbeaten season and a trip to Carson to play in the state playoff bowl title game.
"I was just thinking about making a play and doing it for my brothers," Calomeni said. "We didn't work all summer to come out here and lose. I was just saying to myself 'Don't drop it.' I saw the guy bite and I knew I had to get out there and make a play. Troy (Martig) got it to me -- we did a great job of protecting him."
The Bells, the third-place finishers in the WCAL, poured into the end zone to celebrate the victory. Stunned Milpitas could only watch in disbelief, with some Trojans sinking to the turf in pain.
"We knew they were a good team," (Milpitas offensive lineman Victor Baquilod said. "We tried to play to the best of our ability, but things just didn't turn out the way we wanted. They were probably a more disciplined team -- we got held back by our penalties."
Milpitas will meet Palma next week in an Open Division consolation game -- not exactly what the Trojans had in mind when it took the field against the out-manned and out-sized Bells.
Milpitas entered the game ranked No. 13 in the state by CalHiSports.com. The Trojan program had won 13 straight games, dating back to a 55-34 loss to Los Gatos more than a year earlier.
The Bells will now get another crack at WCAL co-titlist Valley Christian in the semis. Bellarmine fell to the Warriors by 25 points in league.
"This is surreal," said Calomeni, as the Bellarmine victory bell clanged. "There's no words to describe it. We knew they were big and fast and well-coached and had great athletes. But over the summer the coaches did a great job of disciplining us and conditioning us for moments like this."
The Bells alternated quarterbacks Griffin Quinn and Martig each play for most of the season, but Quinn is out now with a fractured ankle. Friday night was all Martig and he delivered like a champ on first down in OT with victory just 10 yards away.
"We were just looking for them to clear out and the fullback to come out to the outside," Martig said. "That linebacker came down and I had had to loft it over his head a little bit. Calomeni made a great catch and took it into the end zone.
Asked what he thought when he saw Calomeni in the clear, Martig said:
"I was just trying not to overthrow him like I did a couple of times in the game. We've been making big plays all year -- our team's kind of thrived on that."
Milpitas had briefly taken the lead in overtime when two runs and an incomplete pass left the Trojans on the Bell 5-yard line facing a fourth down. Ryan Bunyard's 23-yard field goal put them up by three. THen it was Bellarmine's turn.
It didn't take Bells' coach Mike Janda to devise the right play for the crucial moment.
"He (Calomeni) had to reach up and turn and catch it on his finger tips and he's a fullback -- he's not a receiver," Janda said. "Just the determination and what we call 'want-to' to catch that ball was amazing."
The Trojans behind their massive offensive line started impressively. Cros Sanchez gained 25 yards on his first carry of the game and Milpitas drove to the 18 on eight plays, resulting in Bunyard's 35-yard field goal for 3-0. Nobody knew it, but it would be Milpitas' last points until OT.
The game's pivotal play until Calemeni's catch came with time melting away in the first half and Milpitas up 3-0. The Trojans marched to the Bell 1 with time running out, but fumbled the snap and Bellarmine recovered.
Encouraged by its strong first-half play, Bellarmine came out in sync after the break. Anthony Guttadauro's 33-yard run was the key in a seven-play drive that resulted in Cole Bunce's 23-yard field goal to make it 3-3.
Strong play against the run by Bellarmine limited Milpitas' chances in the second half and long Trojan passes resulted in nothing but incompletions.
The Trojans did have a chance to score early in the fourth quarter but quarterback Darreck McNary came up one yard short on a fourth-and-14 scramble from the Bell 28.
Milpitas also drove to the Bell 19 near the end of regulation, but a Trojan 35-yard field goal attempt missed badly with 48.6 seconds left, setting the stage for the dramatic OT finish.
When it finally ended David hadn't exactly been slayed, but he'd been denied.
"I'm just really proud of our players," Janda said. "They came ready to play and they fought against a team that was bigger, stronger and faster and they hung in there and played well enough to win the game."
