BRENTWOOD, Calif. - Time and time again, San Ramon Valley coach Aaron Becker called Jacob Himan's number. And the junior responded, helping the Wolves put on a running game clinic against Freedom in the North Coast Section Division I championship game, and then holding on at the end in a frenzied finish for a thrilling 28-21 victory.
Long after the game was over, Himan stood with teammates and friends, posing for pictures with his workload still evident in his sweat-soaked hair and jersey stained from the black beads in the turf that clung to the players on a wet and foggy evening. He had just run for 189 yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries, repeatedly chasing the heels of his offensive line on outside zone and lead run plays, following fullback Noah Thomas behind an offensive line which put forth a Herculean effort, knowing they had to keep the ball away from an explosive Freedom offense.
Despite the domination on the ground, it nearly was not enough. After the Wolves rode Himan's legs down the field on a time-consuming 66-yard drive late in the fourth quarter, quarterback Brandon Cammisa snuck the ball into the end zone from one yard out, and San Ramon Valley led 28-21 with 1:55 left in the game. A penalty on the extra point helped the Wolves put the ensuing kickoff in the end zone, resulting in a touchback and avoiding the danger of letting the Falcon returners get their hands on the ball.
But on 3rd-and-19, Freedom quarterback Joey Aguilar heaved one down the left sideline to Mekel Ealy, who out-jumped the cornerback for a 61-yard gain down to the San Ramon Valley 27-yard line. A pass interference call in the end zone resulted in another first down, down to the Wolves' 13-yard line, but Kole Cooper sacked Aguilar on the next play.
On second down, the Falcons appeared to set up a potential hook-and-ladder play, attempting to get ball into the hands of Michigan commit Giles Jackson, who was being bracketed by two San Ramon Valley defenders throughout the game. The pass was dropped, however, which set up 3rd-and-18 from the Wolves' 21-yard line. Aguilar looked for the middle of the field near the goal line, but Jered Kenny was there to intercept it with four seconds remaining in the game, setting off a wild celebration on the San Ramon sideline as fans came streaming down from the stands.
The Wolves asserted their run game from the start, driving for a touchdown on their first possession of the game, after stopping Freedom on a 4th-and-1 play deep in San Ramon territory. Himan carried it in from eight yards out for an early 7-0 lead, but it was short-lived, as Ealy returned the ensuing kickoff down the left sideline for a Freedom touchdown to tie the game at seven.
Freedom took its only lead of the night with 3:25 left in the second quarter, when Jackson scored on a three-yard run, but San Ramon responded before the half, as JP Murphy got wide open behind the Falcons' secondary on a play-action pass, and Cammisa hit him in stride for a 44-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14 as both teams headed to the locker room.
Himan scored his second touchdown of the night on the opening drive of the third quarter, following a convoy of Wolves' linemen for a 10-yard touchdown run and a 21-14 lead with 7:34 left in the third. Freedom tied the game again on a 39-yard catch-and-run by Jackson with 8:15 to go in the fourth quarter. Jackson caught a 10-yard option curl route from Aguilar, broke through three defenders and then outran a fourth into the end zone.
That score set up San Ramon's game-winning drive, which took over six minutes off the clock. It was the Wolves' first section title since winning the Division II crown in 2007. Freedom has reached three straight section title games, but has now come up empty in all three of them, though this game was by far the closest of the three.
