SAN FRANCISCO — After a series of heartbreaking losses to open the season, it was only fitting for Sacred Heart Cathedral’s first win of the season to come in similarly dramatic fashion.

Archrival St. Ignatius missed a 43-yard field goal wide left by the slimmest of margins with 44 seconds left and the Fightin’ Irish won the Bruce-Mahoney Game 21-20 before an estimated 8,000 at Kezar Stadium.

“Speed kills and we have speed at every spot,” SHC head coach Barry McLaughlin said.

That speed showed up for the go-ahead score as Jerry Mixon fought through the line and raced down the sideline for a touchdown with 11 minutes left to cap off a two-score comeback, and the defense bent but never broke in the final sequences as Sacred Heart Cathedral (1-5, 1-2 WCAL) held on.

The Wildcats led 20-7 in the third after a trick-play touchdown, with George Lerdal taking a double handoff and firing a 39-yard pass to Shane Crispen, but a bobbled snap on the extra point left a window open for the Fightin’ Irish.

“That was our window against Valley (Christian) and against (Sacred Heart) Prep,” McLaughlin said. “We’ve gotten those breaks and it opens a huge window.”

Ray-John Spears hit Bruce Uperesa for a 37-yard touchdown on fourth down less than two minutes later, and the Irish defense held serve. A third-down completion from Spears to Isaiah Keishk gained 33 yards to set up Mixon’s score, which ultimately became the final touchdown of the night. Brian Coyle’s extra point gave SHC the lead for the first time before the two defenses began trading stops.

St. Ignatius (2-4, 0-3) picked up a first down on the following drive - the Wildcats’ first time moving the sticks since the Lerdal-to-Crispen touchdown - but punted at the SHC 42. Head coach John Regalia also made the gutsy decision to trust his defense by punting on fourth and 3 from the Irish 40 with 5:56 left and just one timeout remaining, and the Ignatian defenders rewarded his confidence with a quick stop, though Eoghan Daly’s 40-yard punt stuck the ‘Cats back at their own 28 with 3:17 left.

The same SI offense that had picked up just four first downs all game and hadn’t embarked on a scoring drive of longer than 39 yards finally clicked into gear in crunch time. Aidan Smith fired off a pair of first downs to Crispen, and a defensive holding penalty put the ball at the SHC 40 with 1:50 left.

Ryan Ivers, held in check by the Irish secondary all night, came up with a 12-yard reception for another first down, but after an Uperesa pass breakup and an incompletion, the Wildcats were faced with fourth-and-6 at the 26 with 44 seconds left.

Having struggled in the special teams department throughout the year, trailing because of a bad snap on an extra point and faced with the added difficulty of kicking on Kezar’s slippery natural grass, Regalia put faith in his kicking unit.

It nearly worked. After McLaughlin called a timeout to ice the kicker, the 43-yard try had the distance but went just two feet to the left of the goalposts, a margin that delivered the Irish their first win of the year after losing by similarly tight margins.

“A tight game like this comes down to a lot of one plays, whether it’s offense, defense or special teams," Regalia said. "Sometimes those one plays are glaring and sometimes they’re not."

While special teams came into focus on the final plays, SI’s inability to run the ball was an enormous issue for the entirety of the game. The Wildcats mustered just two rushing yards, and they had posted negative rushing yardage until a four-yard scramble by Smith on the final set of downs. Until the final drive, they were under 100 yards of total offense for the game.

Even so, the Wildcats were in front most of the way, largely because the same old mistakes haunted SHC early on. A fumble on the opening drive meant SI needed just two plays to score the game’s first touchdown, with Crispen slipping behind the defense to haul in a 22-yard touchdown from Smith.

With the Irish defense keying in on Ivers, who had five catches for 31 yards, Crispen had the best game of his career, with five catches for 90 yards and a pair of scores.

“Shane’s been doing these things all year,” Regalia said. “The difference is tonight it was in big plays where you could see him.”

The Irish answered back by converting three third downs and scoring on fourth down, with Spears, who went 13 of 22 for 194 yards, hitting Isaiah Keishk in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown.

“He always finds a way,” RL Miller said of Spears, his childhood friend.

Charlie Pyfer, who had split time with Smith at quarterback during the spring before transitioning into the secondary, had a touchdown called back as he returned the ensuing kickoff, but he still got his score with 3:37 left in the second quarter on a 58-yard pick six that gave SI a 14-7 lead heading into the break.

Brown lacrosse commit Oliver Bligh starred on defense for SI, forcing the fumble on the opening possession and recovering one early in the third. Though his recovery of a bobbled option pitch just before the ball rolled out of bounds didn’t directly lead to any points, the trade of punts that followed and a 16-yard return by Ivers gave the Wildcats prime field position, and they immediately cashed in as Lerdal hit an open Crispen to open a two-score lead.

For SI to need a trick play and a pair of short fields to score was a testament to the Irish defense, with Silas Bahlibi, Kevin Hernandez and sophomore Benjamin Hatch disrupting plays in the backfield all game. Though he’s one of the largest and oldest players on the field, Bahlibi was also one of the least experienced. He was born in Ethiopia and only took up football this year.

“He’s just a beacon of sunshine out there,” McLaughlin said of Bahlibi. “He doesn’t know what he doesn’t know, so there are no bad habits and he’s learning how to be physical.”

As new as he is to the sport, Bahlibi blended right in with his teammates during the postgame celebrations.

“I lost my voice,” the beaming senior said. “I love it.”

Uperesa was the top receiver on the night for either team, with six catches for 116 yards. Keishk had four receptions for 55 yards, while Mixon finished with 63 rushing yards on 12 carries, fueled by the long go-ahead score.

SHC visits Bellarmine (5-1, 2-1) next Friday at San Jose City College, while the Wildcats will host Mitty (1-5, 0-3) on Saturday afternoon. Considering that the top six teams in the WCAL typically make the postseason, both games will have significant playoff implications.