The Overfelt Royals kept their hopes of a BVAL Santa Teresa title alive on Friday, winning a 34-28 thriller over Willow Glen in one of the craziest finishes of any football game at any level since the 2013 thriller between the Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings.
With 1:48 left, a Tristan Maningo 10-yard run and two-point conversion gave Overfelt (6-3, 5-1 BVAL Santa Teresa) a 28-20 lead, but the Rams weren’t going away without a fight. Quarterback Gabe Negrete led an inspired drive, connecting with Jack Reilly on both a 30-yard touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game back up with 42 seconds left.
That left Melvon Bellard in position to lead Overfelt to victory. Having already rushed for two touchdowns on the night, he took the ensuing kickoff 55 yards to the Rams 41, then hauled in a 15-yard pass from Paul Renteria with four seconds left for the winning score.
Willow Glen (6-3, 3-3) had taken a 14-6 halftime lead on a Negrete touchdown run and a Dylan Pruitt touchdown, set up by a Pau Reed fumble recovery. A pair of Bellard touchdowns put the Royals back in front, but Pruitt tied the game from four yards out with nine minutes left to set up the wacky finish. With the win, Overfelt could still tie for the league title with a win over Leigh (6-3, 3-3) and some help. Silver Creek (6-3, 5-1) would need to beat Branham (9-0, 6-0) to create a three-way tie for the championship.
What’s at stake
Aside from rivalry games and playoff spots, there are a handful of league championships still to be decided in the final week of the regular season. Branham, Mills, Monte Vista Christian, Mt. Pleasant, Oak Grove, Pacific Grove, Salinas, Serra and Wilcox can all win outright titles by winning their own games.
The most interesting battles will be fought in the PCAL Gabilan, PCAL Mission, SCVAL El Camino and WCAL. In the Gabilan, Salinas (8-1, 7-0) needs a win at Aptos (5-4, 4-2) to clinch an outright championship after beating the Mariners last year for a share of the title. A Cowboys loss would mean Palma (7-2, 5-1) could split the title by beating San Benito (5-4, 4-2). In the Mission Division, Monte Vista Christian (7-1, 5-0) has to beat Seaside (8-1, 4-1) at home for the outright crown. Alisal (5-4, 4-1) travels to Soledad (5-4, 3-2), needing a win and a Mustang loss for a share of the crown.
The SCVAL El Camino is a doozy of a three-way race. Saratoga (7-2, 4-1) simply needs to win at Cupertino (3-6, 2-3) to grab a share of the title, but both Gunn (8-1, 4-1) and Homestead (6-3, 4-1) will be rooting for the Pioneers to pull off the upset. If Cupertino’s defense can find a way to stop Saratoga’s aerial assault, the winner of the Gunn-Homestead game will hold an outright championship. Saratoga and Gunn are currently projected in the Division V bracket, but it’s a win-to-get-in situation for Homestead.
In the WCAL, St. Ignatius fans had a strange week as they found themselves rooting for Serra, and the Padres delivered with a 10-0 win over Valley Christian. That means that the Wildcats control their own destiny as they host the Padres on Saturday to close the regular season. Valley Christian (8-1, 5-1) can still share the title with a Friday night win over Mitty (6-3, 4-2) and a Saturday victory by St. Ignatius (7-2, 5-1). Serra (9-0, 6-0) is already guaranteed to hang a banner in Morton Family Gymnasium, but a win would give the Padres their second outright title in three years. Before taking the league for themselves in 2017, they hadn’t done so since 1969. It would also be the program’s first-ever 10-0 regular season. They went 9-0 in 1954 and 8-0 in 1949.
Unbeaten watch
With Serra’s win over Valley Christian, just three perfect teams remain in the section. The Padres are joined by Branham and Half Moon Bay, who will both have tall tests to finish the regular season. Branham will travel to Silver Creek (6-3, 5-1 BVAL Santa Teresa) to take on a Raiders team hoping to snag a share of the league title, while Half Moon Bay heads up Highway 1 to face Terra Nova (6-3) in the Skull Game. Of all the PAL rivalries, the Skull Game may be the one that best fits the cliches about throwing out the records. In 2010, the Tigers won the PAL Bay Division crown yet lost to their rivals, 34-10. After losing three straight meetings by at least 33 points, the Cougars scored 30 in the fourth quarter for a wild 49-48 win in 2014, erasing a 16-point deficit in the process. Terra Nova returned the favor with an upset win in 2016, entering with a 2-7 record but winning 35-31 at John Francis Field, taking the lead for good on a Saini Saini touchdown with 4:57 left.
Basketball connections on display
Bellarmine head basketball coach Patrick Schneider was in attendance at Friday night’s St. Ignatius-Mitty game to watch his nephew, SI receiver and defensive back Danny Burke. He wasn’t the only member of the staff present at Foothill College, as Chris Denker served as the head referee. Denker’s son, Quinn, is going to be the Bells’ starting point guard for a second straight year. The two had a front-row view as Wildcats wide receiver Danny Ryan, also a basketball player, hauled in eight passes to give him 47 through six league games, a new single-season WCAL record. Mitch Haniger, now an outfielder for the Seattle Mariners and a 2018 MLB All-Star, had 46 for Mitty in 2008.
