Update: To see the first round playoff selections, click [here]
Oceanside CA— High school football doesn’t get much better than the show the Oceanside Pirates and El Camino Wildcats put on last night in the final game of the regular season and the City Championship. It took two overtimes to decide the winner with the Pirates ending up on top 31-24.
El Camino got off to a quick start after holding the Pirates to a three and out, fielding the punt at their own 47 yard-line. It took four plays for the Wildcats to get on the board with Chris Brown ripping runs of 29 and 22 yards to set up a seven-yard touchdown run by Wayne Steward.
The Wildcats drove 50 yards on their next possession but the drive stalled at the Pirates 16 yard line. Elias Jacobson’s (1-3), field goal attempt was wide right.
The Pirates were held to their third straight three and out and the Wildcats took over the ball at their own 35-yard line. The Wildcats drove down to the Oceanside 16-yard line and again the drive stalled but this time Elias Jacobson’s field goal was good. El Camino had the 10-0 lead with 54 seconds gone in the second quarter.
Oceanside got their first, first down of the game with 9:41 left in the second quarter. That helped the Pirates offense get on track and a 60 yard Max Shuffer to Azizi Hearn bomb lead to their first score of the night, a 1 yard run by Joshua Garcia. Jake Gerardi’s PAT was good and it was a 7-10 ball game with just over 6 minutes to play in the first half.
The Wildcats final drive of the first half was kept alive by an offside penalty on fourth and four and a roughing the passer penalty but Elias Jacobson’s field goal attempt fell short as time ran out.
The Pirates struck quickly on their first possession of the second half when Shuffer hit Julian Hicks for a 67-yard touchdown and the Pirates had their first lead of the game, 14-10.
The score remained that way until just over 7 minutes left in the game. Sean Ward picked off a Max Shuffer pass and the Wildcats capitalized on the turnover with a 33 yard Jayden Casey to Kameron Bullock touchdown pass. The Wildcats lead 14-17 with just over 6:00 minutes left in the game.
On the ensuing kick-off, the Pirates started their drive at their own 20-yard-line. Using a punishing running attack, Oceanside drove the ball down to the El Camino 17-yard line eating up the clock along the way. From there, the Pirates were unsuccessful in three tries to end the game and on fourth down, Jake Gerardi was right down the middle with a field goal to tie it up at 17.
Overtime in high school, like the college game, is not sudden death. Each team gets the ball on the 25-yard line and has a chance to score.
El Camino had the ball first using three plays to go the 25 yards. The Wildcats scored on a Jayden Casey quarterback keeper from one yard out. PAT was good and it was 17-24.
It was the Pirates turn next and they didn’t waste any time scoring. Max Shuffer hit Puka Kaleopa-Tuisee for 25 yards to tie the game up at 24.
In the second overtime, The Pirates had the ball first. Shuffer hit Joshua Garcia for 22 yards setting up a Tevin Meadow 3 yard touchdown run up the middle.
The Wildcats were unable to score on their possession giving the Pirates the City Championship. Oceanside ended the regular season at 8-2 while the Wildcats fell to 3-7.
In other North County action:
San Marcos CA—David A. Willauer, contributing writer:
San Marcos (6-4) had lost 11 straight times to cross-town rival Mission Hills (7-3) dating back to 2004 but this year, the Discovery Bowl Trophy goes back to the Knights. San Marcos came back from a 10-0 deficit to defeat the Grizzlies 10-14. The Grizzlies scored first on Sam Dixon’s (14 carries for 70 yards) 14-yard touchdown run and added three more on Eric Cavatano’s 40-yard field in the first quarter.
The Knights pulled within three in the second quarter as QB Bryce Bolin (12 of 21 for 164 yards) threw a 73 yard pass to Kyle Phillips (5 receptions for 98). He threw the go-ahead touchdown with 18 seconds left to Josh Bornes (2 receptions for 22 yards for 13 yards) with the PAT good by Eric Cavatano. Bolin and Bornes were named Co-MVP of the Discovery Bowl
San Marcos Josh Bornes on the win: It was a great win for our squad tonight and a team effort, I did this for my family and the school. We worked hard and after 12 years, we finally get to claim the Discovery Bowl Trophy.” Ty Rogers led the Knights in rushing carrying the ball 11 times for 60 yards.
The Grizzlies would have claimed a share of the league title with a win but that honor goes to Torrey Pines who clinched the league championship with a convincing 41-9 victory over La Costa Canyon. The Falcons have been on a roll since losing to Santa Fe Christian, early in the year, and a 2 OT home loss to San Marcos ending the season with road wins over Oceanside (8-2), Mission Hills (7-3) and La Costa Canyon (5-5).
Carlsbad(3-7) got their second straight win beating Vista(3-7), 17-7.
Rancho Buena Vista(3-7) defeated Fallbrook (1-9), 20-10
Army-Navy(2-8) fell to Tri-City Christian(8-2), 46-15