Carpinteria gave the No. 3-seeded football team in the CIF Northwest Division playoffs all it could handle Friday night, but the Warriors came up short on a couple of key plays and dropped a 28-21 overtime decision Friday night in Montebello.
The Warriors missed a potential game-winning 47-yard field goal with four seconds left in regulation and fumbled at the 3-yard-line in overtime as they were going for a first down.
Cantwell scored on its third play in overtime when quarterback Jacob Alaniz found tight end Francisco Gutierrez in the end zone.
“It was a tough one to lose,” Carpinteria coach Ben Hallock said. “The kids played really hard. They did everything they could. They couldn’t have played any harder.”
Cantwell (10-1) took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Warriors fought back and tied the scored on an option run by quarterback Paul “Munchie” Aguilar.
On the ensuing kickoff, Cantwell returned it for a touchdown. The PAT was blocked, leaving the Cardinals with a 13-7 lead.
Carpinteria got a break on Cantwell’s kickoff as the kicker mis-hit the ball and the Warriors got it at the 40.
They drove down the field and Aguilar ran it in for the touchdown and the Warriors converted the PAT to go up 14-13.
Carpinteria’s defense stepped up, giving the Warriors a chance to pad their lead before halftime. They got down to the 15-yard line, but Cantwell’s defense made a big play, picking off an Aguilar pass just before halftime.
Cantwell running back Jonathan Mesa put his team back in the lead when he broke off a 58-yard run in the third quarter. The Cardinals converted a 2-point conversion to go up 21-14.
Carpinteria put together a long drive and tied the score 21-21 on a 1-yard run by Aguilar in the fourth quarter
Both teams had chances in the last three minutes. Carpinteria dropped a pass that would have kept a drive alive and Cantwell threw an interception on a halfback-option play. Alex Rodriguez picked off the pass.
Carpinteria had the ball with 1:30 left and got into range for a 47-yard field goal with four seconds remaining. The kick failed, sending the game into overtime.
“We were right there,” Hallock said. “It came down to the last play.”
Carpinteria ends the year at 7-4.
