Photo by Mark Duffel
BY STEPHEN LYNCH
While the Stockdale High School football team’s overall performance against Centennial might not have been pretty, the ending was a thing of beauty as far as the Mustangs are concerned.
After muddling through the first three quarters of its Southwest Yosemite League game against the Golden Hawks, Stockdale rallied late to claim a 12-7 victory over their long-time rival.
Jack Kaiser connected with Loren Johnson for a 22-yard touchdown pass with three seconds left in the game to lift the Mustangs to a dramatic come-from-behind win in front of a large Stockdale homecoming crowd on Friday night.
“We came out slow and sloppy, but they found a way to finish,” Stockdale coach Brett Shelton said. “They came together at the end and they believed they could do it. And that’s what you ask of high school kids.”
The victory moves Stockdale into a tie for with Liberty for first place in the SWYL.
The Mustangs have now won five games in a row after starting the season 0-2.
“This was a big win for us, especially to see that we don’t have to play perfect football in order to win games.” Shelton said
Despite turning the ball over three times earlier in the game, Kaiser was masterful in crunch time against Centennial.
The junior quarterback was 7 of 10 for 88 yards passing and ran one time for nine yards during the game-winning drive, which began at the Mustangs 3-yard line with 1:16 left on the clock and no Stockdale timeouts remaining.
“We really didn’t have time to think so that helped,” Kaiser said.
The Mustangs got the ball back deep in its own end right after their defense snuffed out an opportunity by Centennial to put Stockdale away.
Leading 7-6 with 2:20 left in the game, Centennial quarterback Max Richey failed on four straight rushing attempts from inside the Stockdale 10-yard line to get the ball into the end zone.
The Golden Hawks advantageous field position was due to a strip-sack of Kaiser by outside linebacker Jacob Navarro, who cut short Stockdale’s first possession of the game with an interception.
Both teams struggled on offense in the first half.
The only points prior to intermission came via a 6-yard touchdown pass by Richey to Tristan Flores with 9:24 left in the second quarter.
That was the last the time the Golden Hawks got the better of Stockdale’s defense, which held Centennial to a paltry 30 yards in the second half.
The Mustangs offense was completely reliant on the running of Jaycob Jones until the final drive.
Jones, who finished with 203 yards from scrimmage (32 carries for 186 yards and two receptions for 17 yards), brought Stockdale to the brink of tying the game early in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run.
But instead of kicking the PAT, Shelton opted to go for two and Centennial’s defense batted down a Kaiser pass attempt.
The Mustangs next possession ended quickly when they failed to convert on fourth and 12 from their own 40-yard line.
However, Stockdale’s stingy defense completely stifled the Golden Hawks late in the game, allowing the Mustangs offense two more chances to score and win the game.
They cashed in on second opportunity and snapped a four-game losing streak to Centennial.
Shelton was pleased with his team’s resolve. The Mustangs had to overcome numerous self-inflicted wounds including 12 penalties for 125 yards.
“From here we got to get better,” Shelton said. “There’s a lot to polish up. This film is going to be good for us. We came out a little complacent. But we have to make sure that hunger comes back.”
Kaiser was happy the Stockdale was able to pull out the win, regardless of how they looked at times.
“An ugly win is better than a pretty loss,” Kaiser said. “But still we have to clean stuff up.”
Johnson finished with three receptions for 66 yards.
The 22-yard game-winner featured him leaping over a defender and coming down with the ball and one foot inbounds in the back corner of the end zone.
Johnson rejected the notion that he had done anything more than anyone else on the team to help Stockdale win the game.
“It was a team effort,” Johnson said. “I just have to thank my linemen and all the other players on the field. It’s an 11 (per) team sport. It’s not just me. We all played a part in it. Made it happen.’
Friday night’s result against Stockdale drops Centennial to 0-2 in SWYL play.
“It was a hard-fought game,” Centennial coach Richard Starrett said. “It didn’t turn out the way we wanted, but we have nobody to blame but ourselves.”
Stockdale 12, Centennial 7
Centennial 0 7 0 0-7
Stockdale 0 0 0 12-12
Second quarter
C-Flores 6 pass from Richey (Helton kick)
Fourth quarter
S-Jones 1 run (pass failed)
S-Johnson 22 pass from Kaiser (run failed)
Individual statistics
RUSHING-Centennial: Finney 9-32, Richey 17-30, Dutton 3-3, Maricich 1-0; Stockdale: Jones 32-186, Johnson 1-10, Kaiser 3-(-2), Hollis 1-(-3).
PASSING-Centennial: Richey 6-17-1-84; Stockdale: Kaiser 18-27-2-162, Beecher 0-1-1-0, Team 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING-Centennial: Flores 3-37, Fimple 1-33, Maricich 1-9, McKindley 1-5; Stockdale: Johnson 3-66, Gradowitz 6-44, Hollis 4-19, Jones 2-17, Brown 1-6, Hudson 1-5, Trujillo 1-5.
JV-Stockdale 19, Centennial 7.
