Trailing by one point midway through the fourth quarter, from its own 13-yard line, Campolindo (5-2, 2-0 DAL Valley) went on an 87-yard scoring drive to turn back host Miramonte (5-2, 0-2), eventually securing the 37-25 victory.
A pair of Noah Loeliger runs ate up 46 yards on the drive, and quarterback Jacob Westphal connected with Kannah Cruickshank for a key 24-yard completion along the left sideline, setting up Matt Ringquist’s seven-yard scoring run with 3:48 left in the game, preserving Campolindo’s 32-game win streak in league play.
“I have to credit Kannah (Cruickshank) for having the best catch of his career in a game against the kids he grew up with,” Westphal said. “We knew we had plenty of time to march down the field and score. Thanks to our brutal non-league schedule, we had some experience playing from behind and putting together drives late in the game.”
Earlier in the game, it did not appear any late heroics would be needed. The visiting Cougars built a 14-6 lead after one quarter, thanks to a pair of Loeliger touchdown runs. The powerful back finished the game with 187 yards on 20 carries.
But Miramonte stayed within striking distance, thanks to the pass-and-catch tandem of quarterback Tim Tague and receiver Nick Foster. The pair hooked up on an eight-yard touchdown in the first quarter, when Tague threaded the needle on a goal-line slant, and again in the second quarter, when Foster outjumped two Campolindo defenders on a fade down the right sideline to cut the Cougars’ lead to 14-12.
Campolindo took advantage of a short punt late in the first half, and after taking over at the Miramonte 48-yard line, finished the second quarter with a 23-yard Eglin Grady field goal to take a 17-12 lead into halftime.
Five minutes into the third quarter, the Cougars had extended their lead to 24-12 on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Westphal to Vincent Mossotti, following a Ryan McNally interception. But like the first half, the Matadors struck back, and this time kept the momentum going.
Miramonte responded with a balanced drive of run and pass, going 74 yards and culminating with an 11-yard touchdown run by Tague, who had 28 yards rushing on the drive. Less than two minutes later, after the defense forced a punt, Tague hooked with Foster for the third time, hitting his main target on a simple go route down the right sideline for a 75-yard touchdown and a 25-24 lead, nine seconds into the fourth quarter.
Campolindo responded by driving into Matadors’ territory, but Miramonte linebacker Ryan Walker made a huge stop of Loeliger in the right flat on fourth down. This time, though, the Cougars defense responded by forcing a punt and setting up the go-ahead drive for the offense. Campo added one late score, on a one-yard run by Branden Bocobo with less than two minutes remaining, after Miramonte was forced to attempt a fourth down from deep in its own territory.
Tague finished the game with 219 yards passing and three touchdowns, but only was able to complete one of his final eight passes after the Cougars took the late lead. Foster had six catches for 144 yards and all three scores.
Westphal had 167 yards through the air to pace Campolindo’s passing attack, while Mossotti had two catches for 80 yards and the lone receiving touchdown. Cruickshank added four catches for 47 yards.
Berean Christian 56 Alhambra 36
With under six minutes left in the game, visiting Alhambra (3-4, 1-1 DAL Foothill) was on the verge of cutting the Berean Christian lead to five points, when senior Isaiah Hodgins stepped in front a Bulldog pass and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown, giving the Eagles an insurmountable 19-point lead late in the game.
The interception return was Hodgins’ sixth score of the game, as the standout receiver and quarterback Chandler Davis hooked up for five touchdowns earlier in the game.
Alhambra actually struck first in the game, and led 7-0 in the first quarter, but the Eagles built a 28-10 by halftime of their Homecoming game. A Damon Blalock three-yard touchdown run for Alhambra made it 28-17 in the third quarter, but a highlight-reel 65-yard catch-and-run by Hodgins pushed the lead back to 18 points.
The Bulldogs closed the gap to 35-30 with nine minutes left in the game, but Berean (5-2, 2-0) responded with an 80-yard drive, capped by Hodgins’ fifth receiving score of the game. Davis completed the scoring late in the game with a 60-yard touchdown run.
Rancho Cotate 55 Ukiah 7
Quarterback Jake Simmons threw for four touchdowns and ran for three more scores as the Cougars overwhelmed Ukiah. Simmons had 326 yards through the air in the first half alone, and Jaelen Ward had another big night, with 262 yards and a touchdown from scrimmage in the first two quarters.
Rancho Cotate scored the first 34 points of the game, beginning with a Simmons one-yard run on the first drive of the game. The junior signal-caller threw touchdowns to four different receivers, connecting with Ward, Peyton Whetstone, Logan Reese, and AJ Vallejos. Whetstone also scored once on the ground.
Kennedy-Richmond 10 Hercules 0
The defenses played big in a battle between teams which had a combined 13-1 record entering this game. And it was a defensive play which made the difference, as neither offense reached the end zone.
Kennedy senior Devin Holmes returned a fumble 75 yards for a touchdown, and Dominick Tagaloa added a field goal, as the Eagles improved to 7-1, 2-0 in TCAL-Stone action. Kennedy’s previously explosive offense was held to 172 total yards, and threw three interceptions, but the defense was relentless.
The Eagles were in the Hercules backfield all night long, with 17 stops behind the line of scrimmage, including six sacks for Ryan ‘Juice’ Robinson, bringing his season total to 20. Junior Demarcus Bernstine added an interception, while Robinson and Kenneth Singleton each forced fumbles.
With the loss, Hercules drops the ranks of the unbeaten, now 7-1 overall, and 1-1 in league play.
