It had been two decades since Overfelt had tasted victory in the Central Coast Section playoffs. On Saturday afternoon in Watsonville, playing a game that had delayed and then re-located due to air quality issues, the Royals ended that streak with a resounding 50-14 win over Santa Clara in the Division IV quarterfinals.
Not since Larry Morris carried a Joe Cattolico-led Royals team to victory over Wilcox in the 1998 title game had expectations been so high for Overfelt, but the team started slow while playing a rare afternoon game at Watsonville High. The Royals trailed Santa Clara 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, thanks to a six-yard touchdown run by the Bruins' dual-threat quarterback, Nick Garcia. But Overfelt was just getting warmed up.
Ulysses Alvarado took a swing pass from quarterback Ulysses Reyes for 42 yards down to the Santa Clara eight-yard line to open the second quarter, and Reyes then connected with junior Paul Renteria for the eight-yard touchdown, tying the game with 10:36 remaining in the first half. A Quincy Robinson interception on the ensuing Santa Clara drive gave the ball right back to the Royals, and they capitalized when Tristan Maningo drove his way in for the one-yard score, making it 14-7 with 7:01 left in the second quarter.
Just over four minutes later, Alvarado broke loose on the ground, racing for a 28-yard touchdown and placing Overfelt firmly in control as the teams headed to the locker room with the Royals leading 21-7.
"It's been that way all year. Once we get momentum, we get rolling," said Overfelt coach Carlo Maningo. "Santa Clara was stopping Ulysses (Alvarado) early, but we spread it out a bit, and also made some minor adjustments with the blocking scheme. Our offensive line got it done, and Ulysses was able to carry the load for us as always. The boys just took care of business."
The 21 points in the second quarter ended up being part of 37 straight points for the Royals, as Laron Morris and Melvon Bellard each reached the end zone in the first four minutes of the third quarter, putting the game out of reach. Santa Clara narrowed the gap temporarily, but Alvarado bolted for a 70-yard score just 40 seconds later, for a 43-14 lead after three quarters.
Alvarado finished the game with a whopping 263 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries, while Reyes added 183 yards in the passing game. Robinson had two interceptions for the Overfelt secondary.
"Quincy anchors our secondary, and has seven interceptions now for the season," Maningo added. "When teams have to pass on us, they're in trouble. Our secondary has been our anchor defensively."
The game was originally supposed to have been a home game for the Royals, but their faithful crowd made it seem partisan-like at the neutral site.
"Our community is showing a lot of East Side pride. We were bummed we didn't get to host, but our crowd was amazing," Maningo said. "They traveled tremendously and were there to support us."
With the win, Overfelt advances to face Burlingame in the Division IV semifinals, this coming Friday, 7 pm at Burlingame. The Panthers defeated Mountain View, 45-7, on Saturday.
