CIF NorCal football: Palo Alto, Miramonte end season in regional play
CIF NorCal football: Palo Alto loses heartbreaker on called-back 2-point conversion, Miramonte fades down stretch
Palo Alto had a game-tying 2-point conversion called back with less than two minutes remaining in the CIF NorCal 6-AA regional on Friday night, and it cost them a 28-26 loss to St. Vincent de Paul.
The Vikings had just scored a touchdown on a pass from freshman quarterback Justin Fung to Jason Auzenne, and the 2-point conversion appeared to tie the game at 28-28. However, Palo Alto was whistled for an illegal shift, and the second 2-point attempt was unsuccessful.
“The play was executed, but we couldn’t stand still for a second,” Palo Alto coach David DeGeronimo explained. “It was the right call.”
The Vikings finish the season with an 8-6 record. St. Vincent de Paul (12-2) will play Wasco for the 6-AA CIF state championship next weekend. Wasco is located about 25 miles northwest of Bakersfield.
St. Vincent de Paul jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Vikings cut the lead to 21-20 at halftime on Jake Wang’s 40-yard touchdown run. On fourth-and-10, he scored on a double reverse. In the third quarter, the Mustangs increased their lead to 28-20.
“We couldn’t get them off the field on third down in the third quarter,” he said.
Because of a neck injury to senior Declan Parker, who had played in all 13 Palo Alto games prior to Friday, the Vikings had to go with freshman QB Fung. Fung is the younger brother of Jeremiah Fung, the star receiver.
5-AA DIVISION
Miramonte 31, Pleasant Valley 12
Miramonte hung tough for three quarters, but Pleasant Valley’s leading rusher Lucas Benson capped a big night with two of his three touchdown runs to put the game out of reach at 17-12.
In the third quarter, with the Matadors (9-4) trailing 17-6, quarterback Carson Blair and wide receiver Jack Quinnild connected for their second touchdown of the game, this time from 12 yards out. Blair’s 35-yard touchdown pass to Quinnild in the first quarter gave Miramonte its only lead of the game, 6-3.
Pleasant Valley’s Benson scored three times on the ground and also threw a 12-yard pass from the wildcat formation to put the home team up 17-6 in the second quarter.
Miramonte cut the lead to five points midway through the third period when Blair connected with Quinnild for the second time, but that would be the closest the Matadors would get. Following their second touchdown, they failed on a 2-point conversion attempt.Benson increased Pleasant Valley’s lead to 24-12 with a 9-yard run one minute into the fourth quarter, then scored three minutes later from one yard out.
Pleasant Valley (10-3) will face Ramona-Riverside for the 5-AA CIF state championship next weekend at a time and location to be determined.
