SD Prep Sports:

2006 San Diego Section

Prep Football Playoff Finals

Division V
Field of dreams:
Patriots shut down Lancers, claim CIF football title

Posted on Dec. 12 2006
Christian High School football players celebrated long after the final whistle had blown, even after they had apparently calmed down enough to take a team photo. As soon as the final flash went off, Patriots players were back on their feet hugging teammates and coaches, pointing fingers into the damp night air and taking turns holding the San Diego Section Division V championship trophy.

“We knew we had to put our heads into this to be champions,” Christian junior offensive lineman/linebacker Patrick Kelly said. He paused, then added, somewhat misty-eyed, “We are the champions.”

The second-seeded Patriots’ 14-10 victory against the top-seeded Francis Parker Lancers Dec. 8 at Patrick Henry High School was a stunner. The teams had met 10 previous times, with the Lancers winning nine of those contests, including once in Coastal League play earlier this season and in last year’s inaugural Division V final.

Francis Parker topped Christian, 16-7, for last year’s division title and won by a pair of touchdowns earlier this season.

But the Patriots (9-3-1) played superior football when it mattered most, and there was little question that Christian didn’t deserve to win this year’s title game — a championship encounter that wasn’t settled until the final minute of regulation play.

The Patriots never trailed in the contest, building an initial 14-0 lead on a two-yard scoring run by Kyler Dwyer in the first quarter and a 10-yard touchdown run by Lawrence Walker in the second quarter.

The Lancers (9-4-0) finished out the scoring in the game with an eight-yard touchdown run by Gino Gordon just before halftime and a 21-yard field goal by Amani Walker in the third quarter.

Christian bore down defensively, allowing just three points in the second half and making the play of the game to deny a potential game-winning touchdown on what turned out to be the Lancers' final play of the season.

Francis Parker had scored an apparent game-winning touchdown on a 15-yard pass to senior tight end Kit Barmeyer with 1:24 left in the game. However, a 10-yard penalty negated the score and backed up the Lancers to second-and-18 from their own 25-yard line. Francis Parker appeared to have plenty of time left despite the setback but promptly decided to try to force a pass into double coverage in the end zone. The ball was lofted high into the air — almost like a desperation Hail Mary pass — and became a jump ball between Christian senior defensive backs John Ferreira and Jordan Graves and Lancers senior receiver Nick Saba.

Ferreira made the interception — right in front of the Patriots’ band, as destiny dictated — and Christian held on for the victory after taking over control of the ball with 1:16 to play.

“Football is a game of big plays and John Ferreira made a huge play,” Patriots coach Matt Oliver said after the game.

Ferreira called the pick the “best moment” of his life.

A pre-game poll between media members suggested this year’s Division V championship game could take two courses. If the teams got into a high-scoring offensive game, the edge could go to Francis Parker. If the teams got into a low-scoring defensive game, the edge could go to Christian.

The Patriots chose to run the ball and control the clock — and play timely defense.

“We lost to them last year (in the championship game). We had one purpose this year — to win CIF,” Christian junior defensive back Sam Hernandez said.

The Patriots out-gained the Lancers 266 to 158 yards in total offense and recovered a fumble besides Ferreira’s interception.

Dwyer, the team’s one-man scoring machine, rushed for 110 yards on 25 carries while Walker gained 94 yards on 11 carries.

Scot Allen’s return to game action after a midseason injury proved to be an emotional boost for the Patriots as well as a timely entrance. It was Allen’s touchdown-saving tackle on a blocked kick return by Gordon, the section’s regular season per game rushing leader, that likely saved the game from being knotted up 14-14.

With Christian in position to attempt a 33-yard field goal, Dwyer’s kick was blocked and the ball floated right into Gordon’s hands in the Francis Parker backfield. Gordon took off at the seven-yard line and promptly weaved his way upfield toward the Patriots’ end zone before Allen caught up from behind and made a dramatic shoestring tackle on the eight-yard line.

The play seemed to sum up the entire game for the Lancers — one play just too short.

Christian dug down defensively after watching the ball go 85 yards the other way. The Patriots held on the next three downs, forcing Francis Parker to settle for a field goal.

The Lancers’ next trip into the Patriots’ red zone ended in even more disappointing fashion.

“It was heart-breaking,” said Gordon, who was held to 94 rushing yards on 22 attempts — well below his season average of 157 yards per game.

The division title was the second for Oliver and the seventh overall in school history, adding to previous CIF championships in 1975, 1978, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 2002. The Patriots have finished second three times: 1976, 2001 and 2005.

The latest title clearly was a team effort.

“Our defense played great all night. Our offensive line played great all night,” Christian junior offensive lineman Josh Porras said. “Kyler Dwyer and Lawrence Walker came through for us. John Ferreira made a great play at the end,”

Patriots, Lancers to battle for final San Diego CIF title

Posted on Dec. 4, 2006
Friday’s San Diego Section Division V championship football game at Patrick Henry High School will feature a rematch of last year’s division title game: the Christian Patriots against the Francis Parker Lancers.

Francis Parker defeated Christian, 16-7, last year. The Lancers (9-3) enter Friday’s championship game rematch seeded first in the division; the Patriots (8-3-1) are seeded second.

The teams met once in Coastal League play this season, with Francis Parker scoring a 30-14 victory on Oct. 14.

Santa Fe Christian, which defeated top-seeded Mission Bay by a 34-21 score in Monday’s Division IV title game, finished on top of the Coastal League standings with a 5-0-0 league record, followed by Francis Parker (3-2-0) and Christian (2-1-1).

The Patriots look to give the Lancers a challenge for this year’s division championship if based on the team’s 31-21 semifinal victory against third-seeded Bishop’s Dec. 1 at Valhalla High School. Christian edged Bishop’s by two points, 28-26, in a key Coastal League matchup on Oct. 28. The Knights lost the game on two missed extra-point conversion attempts.

The teams’ rematch in the playoffs was not close as the Patriots bolted out to 17-0 half time lead and led 24-7 early in the final quarter.

Junior Lawrence Walker plowed ahead of 173 yards and one touchdown while ironman Kyler Dwyer contributed 88 rushing yards and 25 points on three touchdowns, one field goal and four extra points.

Dwyer scored all 17 of his team’s points in the opening half in a bravado performance. Dwyer pulled in a 23-yard scoring pass from quarterback Danny Mitchell to jump-start the scoring, then booted a career-long 42-yard field goal in the second quarter before making a return to the end zone on a 30-yard scoring run later in the same period.

Dwyer scored his third touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter to put Christian ahead once again by 17 points. Walker closed out scoring for the Patriots on a 31-yard run as the teams each racked up a pair of touchdowns in the final period.

Tommy Wornham (265 passing yards) threw two touchdown passes to Tim Costello to bring the Knights (7-5) within 10 points on the scoreboard.

But it was the Patriots’ first-half dominance, especially in ball-control offense, that sealed Christian’s trip to this year’s division championship game.

For the season, Walker keys the Patriots with 1,128 rushing yards (and 12 touchdowns) while Dwyer has rushed for 992 yards and caught 29 passes for 440 yards for a combined 19 touchdowns (to go with 48 extra points, one two-point conversion and six field goals).

Francis Parker defeated fourth-seeded Horizon Christian, 17-7, to meet the Patriots in Friday’s title game. The Lancers led 14-0 on a 21-yard field goal by Amani Walker and a 32-yard touchdown run by Deon Randall. Star running back Gino Gordon scored a key insurance touchdown on an 80-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Gordon enters Friday’s championship game with 1,879 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns.

Division III
Proud to wear purple and gold
Posted Dec. 7, 2006
Derek Dahlen has been a familiar sight along the sideline at Castle Park High School football games as an assistant coach. But when the opportunity arose to coach at his alma mater this season, Dahlen found himself once again wearing purple and gold.
He was also helping lead the post-game cheers after the Saints successfully defended their San Diego Section Division III championship title with Monday’s 17-7 victory against second-seeded Point Loma at Qualcomm Stadium.

“It’s great to be back coaching at your alma mater. The feeling is fantastic,” he said, his face beaming in the after-glow of victory. “I am so impressed how (head coach) Jerry Ralph handles the entire program. I’m proud to be wearing purple and gold.”

A 1988 graduate of St. Augustine High School where he played middle linebacker, Dahlen served as an assistant coach at Castle Park for six years. During the off-season, he also served on the coaching staff of the San Diego Riptide of arenafootball2.

Dahlen was joined this year on the Saints’ coaching staff by another former Trojan assistant coach: former NFL Chargers player Burt Grossman.

Grossman, whose last season with the Bolts came in 1994, coached two years alongside Dahlen at Castle Park and remains a Chula Vista resident.

The two former Trojans wore wide smiles on Monday.

Dahlen served as St. Augustine’s defensive safety coach this season while Grossman coached the team’s defensive linemen.
Defense was a strong point in the Saints’ championship drive this season with blocked punts in quarterfinal and semifinal playoff victories against the Brawley Wildcats and El Capitan Vaqueros respectively.

St. Augustine, seeded fourth in this year’s post-season bracket, handed the top-seeded Vaqueros their first loss this season after El Capitan had gone 11-0-0.

Many felt the Nov. 30 game in front of an overflow crowd on a bone-chilling night at the Lakeside school was deserving of this year’s division championship game rather than serving to eliminate one team in the semifinals.

Several Sweetwater district coaches and administrators were present along the Saints’ sideline to witness the memorable win.
It was St. Augustine’s ability to switch gears offensively in its final two playoff games that paved the way for the team to repeat as CIF champions. Braced by UCLA-bound quarterback Chris Forcier, the Saints had dissected opponents primarily through the air during the regular season. Facing defenses prepared to defend the pass in the last two playoff rounds, the St. Augustine coaching staff decided to go with the run — implementing a dramatic turnaround midway through the semifinal game that saw the team score on all six of its second-half possessions and rack up 304 rushing yards as opposed to 109 passing yards.

Leitch James scored three touchdowns — including one on a 71-yard run and another on a 92-yard kickoff return — to help end El Capitan’s perfect season. James gained 173 yards in the semifinal win and rumbled for 143 yards on 16 carries in Monday’s championship game. A 49-yard run down the sideline helped set up his ensuing plunge into the end zone from one yard out.

Forcier scored on a 63-yard run in the second quarter while Brynmor Hughes booted a 31-yard field goal to initiate the Saints’ scoring. A mishandled punt return helped set up Point Loma’s lone touchdown of the game in the third quarter.

As a team, St. Augustine rushed for 259 yards while passing for just 59 yards.

The Saints defense held Lester Arnold, the Pointer’s Colorado State-bound star running back, to 97 yards on 21 attempts and closed down the Point Loma passing game by limiting signal-caller Lucas Shaw to three completions in seven attempts for just 33 yards.

“From an offensive standpoint, you’ve got to take what the other team is giving you,” Dahlen said. “We matched up really well against El Capitan in all the skill positions. That game ended just how it was supposed to in my opinion — we won by a hair.”

St. Augustine’s defense held control throughout Monday’s game — the Saints’ seventh straight win — as junior linebacker Derek Holsapple made one interception and contributed 10 tackles and junior defensive back Colin Hofmann recorded three sacks.

Dahlen singled out the inspired defensive play of senior defensive back Tim Barnes, senior linebacker Connor Greenspan and junior lineman Chris Pousson in the team’s championship drive.

Dahlen called Barnes the vocal leader on defense, someone who helped keep everything working and complimented the elevated play of both Greenspan and Pousson in the latter part of the season.

The CIF title was the second consecutive for St. Augustine, complementing last year’s 46-14 victory against Point Loma after six runner-up finishes. The Saints recorded runner-up finishes in 1967 (to Lincoln Prep), 1993 (to La Jolla), 1996 (to Mission Bay), 1997 (to Oceanside) and in 2002 and 2003 (both to Marian Catholic).

Dahlen said there are plenty of underclassmen returning next season, including virtually all of the team’s offensive line, to make the Saints a force to be reckoned with once more.

“We have plenty of a nucleus coming back to give it another shot next year,” Dahlen said.

Division V
Patriots, Lancers to battle for final San Diego CIF title

Posted on Dec. 4, 2006
Friday’s San Diego Section Division V championship football game at Patrick Henry High School will feature a rematch of last year’s division title game: the Christian Patriots against the Francis Parker Lancers.

Francis Parker defeated Christian, 16-7, last year. The Lancers (9-3) enter Friday’s championship game rematch seeded first in the division; the Patriots (8-3-1) are seeded second.

The teams met once in Coastal League play this season, with Francis Parker scoring a 30-14 victory on Oct. 14.

The teams’ rematch in the playoffs was not close as the Patriots bolted out to 17-0 half time lead and led 24-7 early in the final quarter.

Junior Lawrence Walker plowed ahead of 173 yards and one touchdown while ironman Kyler Dwyer contributed 88 rushing yards and 25 points on three touchdowns, one field goal and four extra points.

Tommy Wornham (265 passing yards) threw two touchdown passes to Tim Costello to bring the Knights (7-5) within 10 points on the scoreboard.

But it was the Patriots’ first-half dominance, especially in ball-control offense, that sealed Christian’s trip to this year’s division championship game.

Gordon enters Friday’s championship game with 1,879 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns.

Division II
Helix wins respect in CIF championship game loss

Posted on Dec. 4, 2006
The Oceanside Pirates and Helix Highlanders earned the honor of officially kicking off the 2006 San Diego Section high school football season on Aug. 30 as the then top-ranked Pirates shut out the host Highlanders, 27-0, on the inaugural telecast of Channel 4 San Diego's Thursday Night High School Football Game of the Week.

The same two teams played in Monday's Division II championship game at Qualcomm Stadium to provide adequate closure to the 2006 prep campaign. The second-seeded Scotties' 14-7 bittersweet loss against the top-seeded Pirates provided a measure of just how much Helix had grown over the course of the season.

After the season-opening loss to Oceanside, Helix proceeded to go undefeated on the field the rest of the way until Monday's rematch against the Pirates, excluding a forfeit win in the second week of the season against Logan, Utah. Officially, the Highlanders finished regular season play 8-2 and entered Monday's title game with a 10-game winning streak, inclusive of last Thursday's dramatic come-from-behind 13-12 semifinal victory against visiting Mission Hills.

Monday’s game will be remembered as what-could-have-been after the Highlanders committed four costly turnovers in the loss to the Pirates. To a man, Highlanders coach Donnie Van Hook -- and the rest of the Scotties -- know in their hearts they could have captured this year’s championship game if they had played at their best — or, at least, a little better.

How close? Helix (10-3) was in the game until the last 25 seconds. That's a measure of gigantic proportion. There will be a lot of pride to be felt when looking back at this season. It’s important to note that the game ended with Helix players standing on the sideline in anticipation, not in dejection.

“It's what we said all along — we can’t have turnovers,” Van Hook said concisely.

Helix fumbled twice while driving into Oceanside territory and also had a pass intercepted in the end zone. Otherwise, the reigning Grossmont South League champions did themselves proud in holding the high-powered Pirates (9-3-1) to 14 points. Oceanside, which committed two turnovers in the game, led just 7-0 after three periods.

Tears and cheers for the Highlanders. Respect with a capital R.

“We shot ourselves in the foot but we got it done,” said Oceanside head coach John Carroll, whose team collected its third consecutive division championship and ninth CIF title overall.

The Scotties piled up a decisive edge in passing yards in the contest. Dorian Staton finished the game with more than 200 passing yards, hitting Chris Smith on a half-field aerial to position Helix at the Pirates eight-yard line after Oceanside had gone up 14-0 on a nine-yard run by Jordan Vaeena with 9:42 left in the game. Staton then led Matt Cobb to the one-yard line with another pass and Staton then called his own number on a fourth-down play with 4:13 left to finally crack the shutout being pitched by the two-time defending champions.

Kenny Ewert, who was the hero of the Scotties' 13-12 semifinal win with a game-winning field goal in the dying seconds, recovered his own onside kick at the Oceanside 46-yard line to give Helix a shot at tying the game. As it turned out, the Highlanders had two possessions in the game’s waning minutes but turned the ball over both times on downs.

Javier Nicholas scored the Pirates' first touchdown — a 25-yard run — on its opening drive and it appeared it might be a long night for the Highlanders. However, the Scotties matched Oceanside’s heavy-hitting defense thereafter to remain within striking distance.

Helix had a chance to tie the game early in the second half when Staton hit Derric Miller for a 93-yard reception to the Pirates’ three-yard line. But two plays later, Staton lofted a pass into the corner of the end zone and Oceanside’s Lamont Enyard came down with the jump ball to end the Highlanders’ threat.

The Scotties were limited to just 37 rushing yards, but did not give up despite the disappointing turn of events. It indeed turned out to be a long night, but not in the way Helix’s players and fans might have imagined.

Senior defensive back Ronald Brookins ended one Oceanside scoring threat with an interception while senior defensive back Desmond Jackson received recognition as the Highlanders’ sportsmanship award-winner.

Helix 13, Mission Hills 12
Ewert kicked a 32-yard field goal with 29 seconds to play to rescue the Highlanders from a 12-10 deficit and propel them into the championship game. The field goal was Ewert’s second in the semifinal matchup pitting the second- and third-seeded teams in the division. Earlier, Ewert booted another 32-yarder to cut into a 7-0 Grizzlies lead.

Third-seeded Mission Hills (9-3) trailed 10-7 after Kenslow Smith scored on a one-yard run for Helix in the second quarter but tied the game at 10-all on a 32-yard field goal by Austin Vernaci in the third quarter and took a 12-10 lead on a two-point safety with 2:35 left in the fourth quarter. The go-ahead points resulted when the Scotties held the Grizzlies on a fourth-and-goal situation, took over control of the ball at their own five-yard line but could not advance the ball. On the ensuing punt, the snap went awry, giving visiting Mission Hills two points and the lead.

The Highlanders held defensively on the ensuing kick and got the ball back with just under two minutes remaining. Staton proceeded to lead the hosts down field with no timeouts remaining, hitting Chris Smith for a 34-yard gain before Kenslow Smith tacked on 13 yards and Staton scrambled 14 more yards to move the ball closer to the Mission Hills goal line. When a pass into the end zone was broken up by a Grizzlies defender, Helix’s Van Hook elected to go for a field goal.

Ewert split the uprights to give the Scotties the lead. “I told Kenny before the game that he was the man and he turned out to be the man,” Van Hook said.

Mission Hills got the ball back with 23 seconds to play but a Hail Mary pass went into the hands of a Helix defender instead and time expired, setting off a celebratory roar both on the field and in the stands.

Anthony Larceval keyed the Highlanders’ defense with 13 tackles while Derrick Perrault added one sack and one interception.