SAN FRANCISCO — Sacred Heart Cathedral head coach Barry McLaughlin woke up on Saturday morning and tweeted, “Rams, Aggies and Irish! Let’s Go!”
All three of his teams pulled through. The CCSF and Utah State alum watched his Rams win a NorCal Championship over College of San Mateo, Utah State crushed San Diego State to win an unexpected Mountain West title and SHC rolled to a 31-7 win over Chico to win the Northern California 4-A Championship.
“We just had to finish the job,” McLaughlin said after the Saturday night triumph at Kezar Stadium. “I’m just fired up.”
McLaughlin’s infectious energy, which extends throughout his entire coaching staff and roster, was on display throughout the postgame celebration. Just as the Fightin’ Irish did after the prior week’s CCS championship win over Christopher, they brought a speaker on to the field and danced with 2013 SHC graduate Jordan Gomes, who’s made a name for himself in the rap scene as Stunnaman02.
His “Big Steppin” dance has been popularized by the Golden State Warriors, San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon, a Bay Area native whose cousin, Jerry, ran for 57 yards and caught a touchdown in Saturday’s victory.
“We’re gonna bring out the whole City for the state championship game,” Mixon said.
Mixon was one of three recipients of touchdown passes from Ray-John Spears, who completed 12 of 19 passes for 189 yards, including a touchdown to Aidan Shea during a defining sequence late in the second quarter. After four consecutive flags - one on the visiting Panthers and three on the Irish - turned a third-and-2 situation into third-and-27, Spears hit RL Miller for a gain of 25, then found Bruce Uperesa for a 12-yard completion to convert on fourth down. Two plays later, he found Shea for the 20-yard score.
Taking a 14-0 lead into halftime would have been ideal, but Sacred Heart Cathedral (7-7) wasn’t done. Chico (9-4) stalled out at midfield on the ensuing drive, and after a timeout with 31 seconds left in the half, the Panthers chose to punt after initially keeping the offense on the field for fourth-and-2. Without a punt returner on the field, linebacker Bruce Uperesa ran back to field the kick for the first time in his career.
Perhaps Uperesa should have been returning punts before. The two-way, three-year varsity player ripped off a 90-yard punt return touchdown to open up a three-score advantage and all but put the game away.
“The coaches just pointed me to go back there,” Uperesa said. “When I saw how fast the ball fell, I thought I could break it.”
Uperesa is an unusual mix of a two-way player. While it’s common to see players line up at both linebacker and tight end or wide receiver and defensive back, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior plays wide receiver and linebacker.
“When the ball gets in my hands, I feel like no one can touch me. My hands are better than people expect,” he said. “When the ball gets in my hands, no one can tackle me and I keep pushing from there. Defensively, I like to pursue.”
Uperesa forced a fumble late in the game after serving as Spears’ top target, with six catches for 102 yards. His 30-yard catch and run on SHC’s opening drive set up Spears’ 18-yard touchdown pass to Miller, which came on a third-and-14 after a failed end around. All three of Spears’ touchdown passes were on plays of nearly identical length, with the last going to Mixon for an 18-yard score in the third.
“We just had to trust each other,” said Spears, who also ran seven times for 46 yards. “I trust my receivers and my line.”
That line, which was bolstered in late September when left tackle Lorance Wong returned from injury, gave Spears time in the pocket. He was never sacked during Saturday’s game, only losing yards once on a designed run, and his lone interception was on a deep heave into the end zone on a third-and-30.
Even that interception, which came from senior Tad Hervey, did little to change the Panthers’ fortunes. They quickly went three-and-out, and Spears converted a fourth-and-2 on the ground before a short pass to Mixon turned into an 18-yard score.
The Irish added one last score early in the fourth on Brian Coyle’s 37-yard field goal, and Chico finally broke the shutout with 2:38 left on Gage James' 25-yard touchdown pass to Kyron Smith.
The Panthers moved the ball effectively on the ground early, with Saxon Farkas going for 63 yards on 14 carries, but failed to capitalize, missing a 33-yard field goal to the left early in the second quarter when trailing 7-0. Forced to go to the air, they completed just seven of 18 passes for 87 yards.
The lackluster performance did little to dampen the spirits of the busloads of Chico students who made the trip to San Francisco and enjoyed the afternoon at the beach before descending on Kezar Stadium, cheering their team all the way to the end of the lopsided defeat.
“I’m flattered and humbled that they made this trip,” Chico head coach Jason Alvistur said. “Our town loves football and loves these boys. It’s so nice to have the support.”
Despite being weathered by injuries, including the loss of sophomore running back Dion Coleman, the Panthers had an extremely successful 2021 season, winning a Northern Section title for the first time since 1990. Chico had lost three consecutive section title games from 2017 to 2019, including two to crosstown rival Pleasant Valley. Still, the first team that brought a banner to the campus since a year after Alvistur graduated was overmatched against the Fightin’ Irish on Saturday night.
“Best athletes we’ve faced all year,” Alvistur said of Sacred Heart Cathedral. “They play in one of the top leagues in Northern California. When the matchups come out, you see their record and ask, ‘what the heck’s going on,’ but then you realize the league they play in. We knew there would be some matchup problems for us.”
