Monta Vista's bid for a 2-point conversion was thwarted and Gunn escaped with a 28-27 victory Friday night. The loss dropped the Matadors to 6-3 overall, 4-1 league and effectively ended its chances of claiming an SCVAL-El Camino Division title.
“We knew that it’d be a tough game going in and we expected it to be a close one,” Gunn wide receiver Kevin Sharp said. “In the end, (Sean) Lydster and our defense just pulled through and took the win.”
The victory enabled Gunn (7-2, 5-0) to avenge last season’s 49-28 loss to Monta Vista as junior running back Sean Lydster scored four touchdowns and rushed for 239 yards on 32 carries. Meanwhile, consistent performances from linebackers Calvin Membrano and Dietrich Sweat helped contain the Monta Vista offense.
“I think the team and I did a good job,” Membrano said. “The defense players completed their own assignments and we took every chance we had with fumbles and such.”
Gunn must defeat Fremont-Sunnyvale next week before it may claim the SCVAL-EC title and earn an automatic berth for CCS. If Gunn wins next Friday’s game, Palo Alto will also be rewarded with one additional point for playing a league champion. Meanwhile, the Matadors will face off against Cupertino in an away game. A Fremont win could potentially force a three-way tie atop the division if Monta Vista defeats Cupertino, but the tiebreaking scenarios appear to favor the Firebirds. So Fremont can effectively capture the division title with a win over Gunn.
Trailing by only seven points in the fourth quarter, Monta Vista quarterback Nathan Facciola sprang into action and hit wide receiver Ryan Manley with two passes to give the Matadors consecutive first downs and bring the team to Gunn’s 31. Facciola then switched his target after two downs were lost on incomplete passes to Manley.
On third down with still 10 yards to go, Facciola put his hopes on running back Peter Stern with an arcing Hail Mary pass for the end zone. Stern leaped over a Gunn defender to make a catch right at the edge of his fingertips for a 31-yard touchdown to bring the score to 28-27 with only 1:19 left in the game.
Wishing to secure the game without going into overtime, the Matadors elected to run for a two-point conversion amid riotous cheers from the crowd. But Monta Vista’s hopes were dashed when a team of Gunn defenders brought down Stern, effectively ending the game.
“Our defense came through very well,” Gunn head coach Dan Navarro said. “Monta Vista has a very strong offense, so our team had to continuously adjust for that throughout the game.”
Facciola led off in the first quarter with a 14 yard touchdown on the team’s first possession to lead 7-0. But the Titans came back only moments later as Lydster recovered a Matador fumble on Monta Vista’s 14-yard line to score with 4:49 remaining in the first.
Even an aggressive Matador defense could not keep Sharp off his game in the second quarter. Sharp set up Lydster’s second touchdown with a 32 yard catch from quarterback Andre Guzman before being brought down at the 27-yard line by defensive lineman Omar Naguib. Lydster all but breezed through the end zone on the next play for a 14-7 lead with 4:32 remaining in the half.
“The kids were just so disciplined this game,” Titan assistant coach Mark Weisman said. “Anxiety can cause a team to lock up and play worse a lot of the time, but I feel like our boys actually stepped it up as a result.”
Lydster brought the Titans two first downs after halftime to score with a six yard run, but Matador running back Justin Cena scored two touchdowns in the third quarter on sojourns of 6 and 36 yards to tie the score 21-21 going into the fourth.
Gunn brought the ball home one last time with 9:28 left in the fourth to take the lead once and for all. Continuous runs by Lydster and a seven yard pass to running back Marcus Moreno-Ramos ushered in Lydster’s 14 yard touchdown to make it 28-21.
"Monta Vista is a fine team, and this made for a great game with good contributions from either side," Navarro said. "We were closely matched and this turned out to be one of the most difficult wins of the season."
The Matadors hung in there down to the end as Stern jumped on Lydster’s fumble to return possession to Monta Vista with only 44 seconds left in the game. Several last-ditch runs by Facciola proved fruitless, though, as Gunn retained its unbeaten league record.
“We’re just going to keep giving it our all against Fremont or in CCS if we do eventually make it,” Membrano said. “We’ll stay aggressive and do our best no matter who we play in the next few weeks.”
