After a 1-minute 2-second surgically executed but nonetheless desparation drive that, if the last play of the game failed, the 4th Quarter in a CCS Section Small School semi-final game would have ended 35-34, but only if the final play of the game failed, with 1.2 seconds on the clock!
Cold night in Pacific Grove for the PG vs. Scotts Valley semi at Breaker Stadium on Monterey Peninsula where a week earlier PG defeated Capuchino while up Hwy 1 and just off Hwy 17 Scotts Valley defeated Menlo in the first round of the CCS Small School playoffs.
After Scotts Valley jumped to a 14-0 lead to end the 1st qtr on two long plays against a rather sluggish, flat-looking PG, the Breakers got some game and began the 2nd qtr by recovering a SV fumble and then a couple plays later PG's Ebo snaked into the endzone to pull within : Scotts Valley 14-7, and then, with only :52 secs left in the 1st half, PG's Cryns, on a slant off the right tackle, scored and the half ended with both teams tied: SV 14-PG 14.
Two highlights of the 1st half were the defensive play of SV's muscular, extremely fast RT line-backer Leonetti who through-out the first half was almost the 12th man on the Breaker's team as he was in PG's back-field, tackling or sacking or breaking-up pass plays when he wasn't leading or in on searing short-gain tackles, the 2nd highlight when, with an all good things must come to and end flaver to it when PG's Cryns running down the right sideline to set-up PG's 2nd score a play or so later was about to be shoved out of bounds by Leonetti but instead turned into the burly linebacker and drove him about 5-yards downflield before gravity took over, with both guys rolling another 5 yards like a ball of colored yarn and about to duke it out after Leonetti got up and popped Cryns on the front shoulder pads. You had to be there, just one of those terrific moments during a hsfootball game when tension and stakes are high. (Hard to believe a kid like Leonetti won't make all-league at his position and good reason for the Mercury News sports section to name him their #1 candidate in that position for its yearend picks of top players, even though he's from a small school.)
Second half was a see-saw scoring affair, with SV scoring on a 10 yard pass at 9:00 into the 3rd qtr, with PG coming back after Colby Foster ran for 2 consective 20 yd gains capped by a Capolla 22-yd run for a TD, score tied SV 21-PG 21 with 5:12 remaining in the qtr which ended with SV's Troy Mihn scoring with 2:00 remaining to end the 3rd qtr SV 28-21.
Less than 2 mins into the 4th qtr, after PG's Cryns (a surfer-looking kid with long hair and natural, instinctual running ability) bulled his way down field into SV's red-zone, Ebo rushed for the end-zone to tie the game up, again, 28-28.
With 3:33 remaining in the 4th qtr, SV scored on a beautifully executed hook and lateral passing play for a 44-yd TD, and then, with 1:40 left on the clock, from 2 yds out, Cryns scored again bringing PG within 1 point and a tie: with SV leading 35-34, but not to happen, as PG, instead of kicking for the extra point, failed to run the ball to the right for 2. Game over is what it looked to be, but instead, after the kick-off, with SV's running game stalled and with PG using up all three of its TOs to stop the clock, SV had to punt, kicking the ball OB which stopped the clock with 1:02 left in the game. About 10 plays later, with PG's QB Morton (a short-stop with a rifle for an arm during another season) hitting most of his passes and spiking the ball if the play didn't go OB to stop the clock, finally, with 1.2 seconds on the scoreboard digitals, after Scotts Valley used 2 of its TOs to rattle kicker Nolan, ball snapped, Moore sets it down on the round black disc, and Nolan pops it through the uprights with the buzzer sounding and PG winning 37-35, a heart-breaking loss for Scotts Valley, a jerked from the jaws of play-off death vic for the Breakers of Pacific Grove who will meet Half Moon Bay during next week's CCS Small School championship game (after HMB deteated Carmel, tonight, in HMB, 28-14). Yeah, one of those games where everyone in the PG stands has these holey mackeral-eating grins on their faces and big rolling eyeballs in their sockets as PG is hop-scotching down the field to pull off the win which yoou almost know is going to happen. And some people wonder why many of us grown men love following hsfootball! Muds
Cold night in Pacific Grove for the PG vs. Scotts Valley semi at Breaker Stadium on Monterey Peninsula where a week earlier PG defeated Capuchino while up Hwy 1 and just off Hwy 17 Scotts Valley defeated Menlo in the first round of the CCS Small School playoffs.
After Scotts Valley jumped to a 14-0 lead to end the 1st qtr on two long plays against a rather sluggish, flat-looking PG, the Breakers got some game and began the 2nd qtr by recovering a SV fumble and then a couple plays later PG's Ebo snaked into the endzone to pull within : Scotts Valley 14-7, and then, with only :52 secs left in the 1st half, PG's Cryns, on a slant off the right tackle, scored and the half ended with both teams tied: SV 14-PG 14.
Two highlights of the 1st half were the defensive play of SV's muscular, extremely fast RT line-backer Leonetti who through-out the first half was almost the 12th man on the Breaker's team as he was in PG's back-field, tackling or sacking or breaking-up pass plays when he wasn't leading or in on searing short-gain tackles, the 2nd highlight when, with an all good things must come to and end flaver to it when PG's Cryns running down the right sideline to set-up PG's 2nd score a play or so later was about to be shoved out of bounds by Leonetti but instead turned into the burly linebacker and drove him about 5-yards downflield before gravity took over, with both guys rolling another 5 yards like a ball of colored yarn and about to duke it out after Leonetti got up and popped Cryns on the front shoulder pads. You had to be there, just one of those terrific moments during a hsfootball game when tension and stakes are high. (Hard to believe a kid like Leonetti won't make all-league at his position and good reason for the Mercury News sports section to name him their #1 candidate in that position for its yearend picks of top players, even though he's from a small school.)
Second half was a see-saw scoring affair, with SV scoring on a 10 yard pass at 9:00 into the 3rd qtr, with PG coming back after Colby Foster ran for 2 consective 20 yd gains capped by a Capolla 22-yd run for a TD, score tied SV 21-PG 21 with 5:12 remaining in the qtr which ended with SV's Troy Mihn scoring with 2:00 remaining to end the 3rd qtr SV 28-21.
Less than 2 mins into the 4th qtr, after PG's Cryns (a surfer-looking kid with long hair and natural, instinctual running ability) bulled his way down field into SV's red-zone, Ebo rushed for the end-zone to tie the game up, again, 28-28.
With 3:33 remaining in the 4th qtr, SV scored on a beautifully executed hook and lateral passing play for a 44-yd TD, and then, with 1:40 left on the clock, from 2 yds out, Cryns scored again bringing PG within 1 point and a tie: with SV leading 35-34, but not to happen, as PG, instead of kicking for the extra point, failed to run the ball to the right for 2. Game over is what it looked to be, but instead, after the kick-off, with SV's running game stalled and with PG using up all three of its TOs to stop the clock, SV had to punt, kicking the ball OB which stopped the clock with 1:02 left in the game. About 10 plays later, with PG's QB Morton (a short-stop with a rifle for an arm during another season) hitting most of his passes and spiking the ball if the play didn't go OB to stop the clock, finally, with 1.2 seconds on the scoreboard digitals, after Scotts Valley used 2 of its TOs to rattle kicker Nolan, ball snapped, Moore sets it down on the round black disc, and Nolan pops it through the uprights with the buzzer sounding and PG winning 37-35, a heart-breaking loss for Scotts Valley, a jerked from the jaws of play-off death vic for the Breakers of Pacific Grove who will meet Half Moon Bay during next week's CCS Small School championship game (after HMB deteated Carmel, tonight, in HMB, 28-14). Yeah, one of those games where everyone in the PG stands has these holey mackeral-eating grins on their faces and big rolling eyeballs in their sockets as PG is hop-scotching down the field to pull off the win which yoou almost know is going to happen. And some people wonder why many of us grown men love following hsfootball! Muds
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