Run-oriented Citrus Hill-Perris doesn’t use many pass plays in its offensive arsenal. But the Hawks needed a big pass to win the state playoff bowl title last weekend.
Elijah Mathews’ pass to Jaquan Blackwell will go down in school history as a big one in a 23-20 victory over visiting St. Francis-Mountain View.
Long a Southern Section, and Riverside County powerhouse, Citrus Hill nabbed its first state championship against the Lancers, a perennial power from the West Catholic Athletic League.
Citrus Hill, which outlasted Rancho Verde-Moreno Valley in the semifinals, knocked off Heritage-Menifee in the Southern Section championship, supplanting Redlands East Valley as the state’s 2A champion.
Coach Eric Zomalt, who replaced highly successful Doug Dubois in 2010, hasn’t lost many since a 7-4 opening season. He has a 64-6 record between 2011 and 2015 and has won three Southern Section championships.
That 64th win didn’t look so promising.
“I’d like to say I had full confidence that we’d come back, but with the way things started, it felt like maybe it wasn’t meant to be," said Zomalt, a former Cal star and NFL safety for Philadelphia and the New York Jets.
The Hawks' usually reliable ground game – 2,644 yards from Devin Floyd, plus another 1,127 from Dumar Fisher throughout the season – didn’t net a single first down in the first quarter.
It was a pass play that kept Citrus Hill alive against the Lancers.
On a third-quarter, fourth-and-10, Mathews found Blackwell, whose diving effort resulted in a 39-yard gain. One play later, the Hawks’ offensive line – led by three-year starters Laundry Mauney and Damien Bacajol – bashed defenders to provide a pathway for Fisher’s TD.
Citrus Hill's Manny Berz added a field goal.
Citrus Hill, faced with an early 13-0 deficit, got 181 yards from Floyd, which included a 45-yard TD run and a 60-yard run that set up another TD.
It’s not that Mathews doesn’t pass, either. Through 14 games, he connected on 82-of-152 (1,014 yards). In the previous three games, he was 0-for-1 in a 56-21 Southern California Regional victory over Calabasas a week before; no completions in that 29-10 win over Heritage; plus 3-of-7 in beating Rancho Verde, 52-45.
There would be another completion against St. Francis – Finau Mikaele taking this one for a 20-yard TD that left the Hawks ahead, 23-13.
Four-time Southern Section champion Citrus Hill turned to its defense to secure the state title – QB sacks by Karriem Madison and Zach Markworth – that left the Lancers in a fourth-and-18 hole.
But the same magic that worked for Citrus Hill wasn’t alive for St. Francis (12-3). St. Francis got 137 rushing yards from Cyrus Habib-Likio, plus some big play from backfield mate Lutoviko Ahoia. However, all-league senior quarterback Kamaili'i Akina did not play for undisclosed reasons. He has been the starter behind center for two years after transferring into the Bay Area school from Texas, but was relegated to the sideline against the Hawks.
The Lancers’ only two losses – 28-26 to Bellarmine and 27-21 against Oak Grove-San Jose – preceded them in their showdown with Citrus Hill as they tied Bellarmine for the WCAL title. The Lancers had never been to a state bowl game before.
Citrus Hill, which had also never played for a state title, carried a 4-0 mark in championship games into this state finale.
In last season’s playoff run, Citrus Hill smashed Citrus Valley-Redlands and edged Rancho Verde in the quarterfinals before losing in the final minute to Redlands East Valley, 34-31, in the semifinals.
