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HAYWARD — Encinal’s collective dream of capturing a section title was one kick away from becoming reality.
Alas, Encinal’s reality was about as cold as the night. With 16.3 seconds remaining, Del Norte blocked Encinal’s game-winning 25-yard field goal attempt. The ball never made it more than four feet off the ground.
Del Norte blocks the kick with 16.3 seconds remaining. No timeouts left for Encinal. Del Norte will be the 2019 NCS DIII champions. #BAPrepsHQ@DarrenSabedra @leftwich @JensenPhil @VytasMazeika @schwab_matt @BayAreaPrepsHQ pic.twitter.com/qxrddltdFh
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) December 1, 2019
As the pigskin rolled around the artificial turf after being swatted by the Warriors’ special teams unit, the true reality set in: Del Norte had squeaked by Encinal, 14-13, to capture the 2019 North Coast Section Division V championship.
“It hurts when you lose close ball games like this,” said Encinal coach Keith Minor. “These are the ones you remember. These the ones you gon’ remember the rest of your life.”
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For top-seeded Encinal (11-2), that field goal had the chance to erase a litany of missed opportunities.
With eight minutes remaining in regulation and No. 2 Del Norte (12-1) leading 14-7, Encinal’s Isaiah Smith exploded for a 68-yard touchdown run, but a pair of unforced errors resulted in an unconverted extra point attempt.
An unsportsmanlike penalty — one that evoked memories of the Egg Bowl from earlier this week — combined with a false start resulted in a 40-yard extra point attempt that clanged off the left upright. Instead of a tie score, Del Norte clung to a 14-13 lead.
Encinal had an opportunity on its next offensive drive after getting a defensive stop, but fell victim to another unforced error. Following an incomplete pass, a Del Norte defender was flagged for a personal foul, which would have given Encinal the ball on Del Norte’s 39-yard-line along with a fresh set of downs.
That golden opportunity fell by the wayside when an Encinal receiver retaliated, resulting in offsetting penalties. The drive ultimately ended in a turnover on downs.
“There were some close calls, but you know what, we gotta play better,” Minor said. “In the end, that message is, if you want that inch, you want that point, you gotta work for it.”
Encinal cast the first stone when quarterback David Romero-Reinholz lofted up a pass for Teddy Oliver, who hauled it in with one hand and took it to the house for a 39-yard touchdown.
That 7-0 lead was short-lived as Del Norte immediately responded in its following two drives. Chase Blackburn capped off a 10-play, 78-yard drive with a 15-yard run up the middle, tying things up at 7-apiece. After holding Encinal to a three-and-out, Del Norte took a 14-7 lead with a quarterback sneak at the 1-yard line courtesy of OJ Calleja.
OJ Calleja finds the end zone on the quarterback sneak.
Note: Del Norte will receive in the 2nd half
Del Norte 14, Encinal 7
2nd – 1:47 pic.twitter.com/wW1x5LwL0S— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) December 1, 2019
Del Norte went into halftime only leading by seven, but had complete control of the game. Despite the Warriors almost exclusively running the ball, the Jets had no answer through the first 24 minutes of play.
Coming out of the break, however, The Dark Side — nickname of Encinal’s defense — found its second wind, along with a formula to contain the three-headed monster of Blackburn, Kobe Mitchell and Levi Cox Cooley. Encinal forced two punts and two turnover-on-downs in Del Norte’s four second-half drives.
“They kinda got punched in the mouth,” Encinal defensive coordinator Nick Safir said of his players in the first half. “That’s something that hasn’t happened to us a lot. We changed up some things up front and did a few different things with our inside guys so their trap wouldn’t work as well. I think that really shut them down.”
Even with the defense playing its best half of football of the season, given the circumstances, the Jets could only control one side of the ball.
The heartbreaking nature of the loss, both in terms of context and result, left numerous Encinal players visibly distraught after the final horn. But even after the biggest gut punch of their careers, several Encinal seniors summoned the courage to lead their team one last time.
When Encinal and Del Norte lined up for the awards celebration, Jezaiah Naigulevu walked up and down the 45-yard-line, consoling his fellow teammates. In Encinal’s post-game circle, Oliver took control of the huddle after Minor, offering words of encouragement.
“I already know how that pain feels as a junior to lose like that with a good team that really could have did it,” Oliver said. “My message to them was keep your head up. Come back in the offseason, work hard, do not short yourself on any reps. Do not expect nothing less than greatness.”
Said Naigulevu: “I’m just trying to let everyone know not to beat themselves up. At the end of the day, it’s nobody’s fault. It’s a team effort. A lot of us, we got a lot more outside of football. Even on the field, we’re family just as much as we are off the field. I wanted to let them know I got their back just like they got my back anywhere, anytime.”
Looking forward, there’s reason for the program to share optimism. This season was the first time in Minor’s three-year tenure that Encinal advanced to the title game. Encinal will also return a large crop of players, among them being breakout star Keirr Stewart.
“It was a great season. We gon’ be back,” Minor said. “We’re going to have about 20, 25 seniors next year. We got some guys who can play. We’re confident our young guys are going to step up.”