With the lead and league championship on the line, San Lorenzo Valley senior Jack Dagan was inches away from putting the Cougars in prime position of giving them some extra cushion in Saturday’s game against Stevenson.
Yet, it was the Pirates that had the momentum-changing moment with a goal line stand, stuffing the Cougars’ quarterback short of the end zone for a touchdown.
Stevenson’s defensive stop led to 15 unanswered points in the second half en route to a 24-14 win over the Cougars in their home finale in Felton.
“It was a tough loss. When we got stuffed on the goal line that was a big momentum shift,” Dagan said. “I thought I was in. The ref put her hands up, and then they changed it. That was a bummer.”
The loss snapped SLV’s win streak of eight consecutive, and it gave Stevenson control of the Pacific Coast Athletic League Santa Lucia Division championship with one game remaining in the regular season.
“That was the ball game to me,” SLV head coach Dave Grant said about the goal line stand. “But I love our kids, they played so hard. Our defense played really well, [Stevenson’s] a really good team. They got a great quarterback, great receivers, hats off to them. Those guys came up here, road game for a championship. Hard fought game. We knew it was gonna be close.”
Prior to kickoff, Dagan was awarded and wore the No. 21 jersey in memory of Cougars football player David Maze, who was killed in an alcohol related driving accident in 1997.
The jersey is presented before the final home game of the season to the player who best exemplifies the dedication and determination that was established by Maze.
“I was a little surprised. It’s everything, I’m so grateful for my teammates, everyone,” Dagan said.
After trailing for most of the afternoon, Dagan showed some of his determination midway through the second quarter. He scrambled his way into the end zone for a touchdown which gave SLV a 7-3 lead.
Dagan then led the Cougars on another scoring drive just before the break. Justin Griffis powered his way for a 3-yard touchdown run with 0:29 second remaining in the first half, extending the lead at 14-3.
Stevenson responded right back on the ensuing kickoff, though. Caden Olson returned it down the left sideline past the Cougars’ special teams unit, stunning both the home sideline and the crowd.
Instead of trailing by 11 points, the Pirates chipped away at the deficit at 14-9 going into halftime.
“Giving up that kickoff return, that was a tough one,” Grant said. “Still, we were up 14-9, and we felt like we gotta score at least two more times in the second half. We did punch it in, but then [the referees] took it away.”
In an attempt to steal back the momentum, SLV lineman Hayden Woolworth and Gio Ricigliano along with the rest of the defense stopped Stevenson on its opening drive in the third quarter. Dom Aguilar also recovered a fumble for SLV, which set them up midfield and a chance to slowly put the game away.
“We put the pressure on their offense,” Grant said. “I felt like their quarterback [Fin Mink] was never really comfortable back there.”
The Cougars drove the ball down to Stevenson’s 3-yard line for a 1st-and-goal situation. However, they were stopped short of the end zone on four attempts, including Dagan’s quarterback keeper on fourth down.
Grant said the coaches discussed kicking a field goal to take an eight-point lead. Instead, they were confident enough for the offense to get the six points.
“We felt like we were gonna punch it in, and we did,” Grant said. “They gave us a touchdown, they went and talked about it, and then they said no. I couldn’t see, it was on the far side of the field. The referee was right there. That was really rough, to take that touchdown away. Just completely change the momentum.”
Indeed it did. The Pirates set sail and never looked back. Tono Borgamini’s 3-yard touchdown gave Stevenson back the lead at 17-14 with 6:38 remaining in the game. The defense then followed up with an interception by Logan Lund.
Backed up deep in their own territory, the Pirates needed at least two first downs to wrap up the game. Quarterback Fin Mink delivered something better.
Mink found receiver Derek Diniz down the middle on a slant route, who then split past SLV’s defense for an 88-yard touchdown.
“I think they found some windows underneath a little bit,” Grant said. “We knew they were an explosive offense. They make you cover the whole field. We missed a couple tackles in the open field that opened up some big gains.”
Up next, the Cougars (8-1, 4-1) hit the road for their regular season finale against Pajaro Valley (4-5, 3-2) in Watsonville on Nov. 9 at 12:30pm.
“We just gotta keep our heads up and get a win. Hopefully we still have a shot at the playoffs,” Dagan said.
