The crowd was tense as the Pioneer Mustangs approached the ball on fourth down, 10 yards away from victory, and one yard away from a first down to keep the drive alive with only 49 seconds left in the game. The ball was snapped, and as Pioneer tried to run a sweep left to pick up the critical first down, Oak Grove defenders swarmed the ball carrier, brought him down for a loss of 3, and gave the ball back to their offense. One kneel down later, Oak Grove had defeated Pioneer 30-23.
With the victory, Oak Grove (8-0, 5-0 BVAL-MH) remains in first place in the BVAL Mount Hamilton and in line for a top seed in the CCS Open Division playoffs. The Eagles finish the season with games against Sobrato (6-2, 4-1) and Leland (5-3, 4-1), two teams that are tied for second in the division.
Pioneer (3-5, 2-3) can still get back into the CCS playoff picture, with a win at Piedmont Hills next week. The top four teams in the BVAL-MH receive automatic bids to the CCS playoffs.
For the first three quarters, the teams had been locked in a battle for momentum, as Oak Grove tried to put the game out of reach for Pioneer. However, every time the Eagles tried to pull ahead, the Mustangs would find away to keep pace and stay in the game.
Oak Grove finally seemed to get its chance early in the fourth quarter when Pioneer missed an extra point, making the score 24-23 in favor of Oak Grove. When a long run by Eagles senior halfback Nick Bernardo set up a 13-yard rushing touchdown by Edwin Aguirre that made the score 30-23. The Eagles lost their chance to make it an 8-point lead when the extra point went wide of the uprights.
The Mustangs tried to seize the opportunity, driving down to the Oak Grove 10-yard line, usurping the final 9 minutes of play in the process, but ultimately failed to secure a victory.
Neither team had much success moving the ball through the air, causing both teams to rely heavily on their talented running backs to get the job done. Pioneer turned to seniors Dominic Barnes (2 TD runs) and Russell Neeley to carry the load, while Oak Grove relied on Bernardo (2 TD runs) and senior Chidobe Awuzie (1 rushing TD) to churn out yards.
Bernardo seemed to have an unending reserve of energy throughout the night, as he was also frequently called upon to play linebacker, while still serving as the Eagles’ primary tailback.
“All my life I played middle linebacker, but I am switching to strong safety for college," Bernardo said. "Tonight, I was just playing wherever my team needed me."
