December 8, 2006

Oak Grove football falls short in CCS Championship

Though the top-seeded Oak Grove football team survived a scare in the semifinals of the Central Coast Section (CCS) Open Division Champion-ships by defeating Serra 23-22, the Eagles’ luck ran out in the championship game, as they fell to the third-seeded Palo Alto Vikings by a nearly identical score, 23-21. The thriller was played in front of more than 5,000 spectators at San Jose City College on Dec. 1.

Oak Grove quarterback Kevin Vye throws a deep pass in the CCS title game versus Palo Alto. Vye threw for 215 yards and three touchdowns in the Eagles 23-21 loss. Photos by Ben DeKoven

Oak Grove (11-1-1) began the game in fine form, with senior Nick Loredo and junior Mark Forrest sacking Palo Alto’s quarterback on the first two plays from scrimmage.

After forcing a punt on the Vikings’ first possession, Oak Grove junior Stacy Long returned the kick 46 yards to the Vikings’ 1-yard line. Palo Alto’s senior quarterback Nick Goodspeed was in on punt coverage, and made a touchdown-saving tackle that seemed insignificant at the time, but would prove to be a pivotal play in the game.

The Palo Alto defense stuffed Eagles’ junior running back Nevin Gardiner on consecutive plays, driving Oak Grove back to the six-yard line. Forced to settle for a field goal attempt on fourth down, the Eagles botched the hold, and Palo Alto defenders ambushed senior holder/wide receiver Larry Lacotti to secure the change of possession. “We definitely missed an opportunity early in the game,” said Oak Grove head coach Ed Buller. “A couple of those plays were mental errors where we missed blocks. Otherwise, we could’ve walked into the endzone on either play. But, still, we had our chances.”

Seizing on the momentum swing, the Vikings mounted an impressive 12-play, 90-yard drive that culminated in a 26-yard touchdown run by junior fullback Sione Mataele, giving Palo Alto the early 7-0 lead.

The Vikings added to their lead with another long drive late in the first half. Goodspeed rolled right and made a perfect throw to senior tight end Beddy Benaderet for a 14-yard touchdown. Palo Alto missed the extra point, leaving the score at 13-0 with just over three minutes left in the second quarter.

Oak Grove linebacker Mark Forrest sacks the Palo Alto quarterback in the first quarter of the Eagles’ 23-21 loss in the CCS title game.

That set off a frantic finish to the first half, where both teams drove quickly to tack on additional points before the intermission. Oak Grove senior quarterback Kevin Vye connected with Lacotti for 37 yards, then hit Lacotti again for a 22-yard touchdown that brought the Eagles within 13-7. Lacotti finished with 129 yards receiving, while Vye threw for 215 yards and three touchdowns.

Palo Alto was not content with going into the locker room up by six, however, and mounted a swift scoring drive of their own. Goodspeed found senior tailback Will Frazier for 30 yards, helping to set up a 35-yard field goal by junior Tyger Pederson that gave the Vikings a 16-7 halftime lead.

Vye connected with Lacotti for another touchdown late in the third-quarter, this time from 24-yards out, pulling the Eagles to within 16-14 and setting up a tense final quarter.

The Vikings were successful in controlling the ball and chewing up the clock throughout the contest, and that success continued in the final period. The Eagles nearly came up with a huge goal line stand at the end of another long Vikings possession, but were flagged for pass interference after a Palo Alto incompletion on fourth down, giving the Vikings a new set of downs that they converted into a score. Mataele scored his second touchdown of the game on a 1-yard pitch play with less than seven minutes remaining, giving Palo Alto a 9-point cushion and pressing the Eagles’ backs firmly against the wall.

Despite the fact that the Eagles’ held Palo Alto to just 129 passing yards, the Vikings found success in the running game, with Frazier and Mataele putting up 108 rushing yards each, comprising the majority of Palo Alto’s impressive 224 total yards rushing. “Palo Alto did a nice job of controlling the ball and keeping it away from us all game,” said Buller.

Oak Grove receiver Larry Lacotti pulls in one of his two touchdown passes in the CCS Championship against Palo Alto. Lacotti had four catches for 129 yards in the Eagles 23-21 defeat.

The game looked lost when Vye failed to convert a fourth-and-15 from the Eagles’ 21-yard line, but a successful goal line stand by the Oak Grove defense gave the team new life.

The Eagles were faced with another improbable fourth down on their next drive, needing 23 yards to convert. Vye found Lacotti again, however, this time for a thrilling 46-yard bomb to the Palo Alto 19-yard line. An 11-yard touchdown pass to Long with 43 seconds remaining made the score 23-21.

Oak Grove lined up for an onside kick with the CCS title on the line. Eagles’ junior kicker Mike Segovia provided a quality onside attempt that tantalizingly rolled for several seconds, before finally going out of bounds, giving possession back to the Vikings and sealing the Eagles’ fate.

Goodspeed twice took a knee, running out the clock to give the Eagles (12-1) their second CCS title in school history, and first since 1995. Both sides, however, left with their heads held high. Said Buller, “It was a just great high school football game.”

Oak Grove can still point to several noteworthy accomplishments from this memorable season. “This was a terrific season,” said Buller. “Nevin Gardiner was named most valuable player in our division. We had six players who were all-league selections, and expect to have some all-CCS players, and we won our division. I’m very proud of our guys.”