In its first close game of the season, the San Marcos football team managed to keep its cool, executed its plays down the stretch and pulled out an exciting 38-33 come-from-behind victory over Channel Islands on homecoming night at Warkentin Stadium.
Trailing 33-31, quarterback Wesley Ghan-Gibson calmly led the Royals 60 yards in the last 1:37, and running back Esteban Alfaro scored the winning touchdown on a 2-yard run with 45 seconds left.
The San Marocs defense came up big up on Channel Islands? last drive. Josh Beasley and Jack Haley sacked Raiders? quarterback Ricky Estrada, Andres Martinez and Inri Cortez broke up passes to big receiver David Anderson and Beasley dropped Estrada behind the line again on fourth down.
The victory puts the Royals at 5-0 going into next week?s big game at defending CIF champion Nordhoff. Channel Islands falls to 1-3.
Inri Cortez scores San Marcos’ first touchdown on a 10-yard pass from Wesley Ghan-Gibson
Ghan-Gibson had one of the biggest passing nights for his career, completing 19 of 32 for 297 yards and two touchdowns. Alfaro rushed for 136 yards on 23 carries and scored three touchdowns, two of them coming in the fourth quarter.
The Royals rolled up 501 yards of total offense.
Ghan-Gibson showed great poise in leading his team back. He had the ball stripped out of his hands as he stepped up in the pocket and Bryan Almontes of Channel Islands recovered the fumble with 1:59 left.
When the Royals? defense held the Raiders on four downs, Ghan-Gibson relished the chance to get his hands on the ball again.
?The defense told me they would get the ball back,? he said.
Once he was back on the field, Ghan-Gibson was in command.
?His demeanor was very important because players are looking for someone to lead them,? coach Anthony Linebaugh said. ?He has really grasped that role. He?s always thinking about the next play. Whether the last one was successful, or in that case unsuccessful, he?s always thinking about, ?How can I help my team.? It?s that team personality that has really revealed his maturity as a player and a person.?
Ghan-Gibson started the drive with an incomplete pass, but he came back with a 9-yard completion to Austin Pugh and a pass out in the flat to Alfaro, who raced 34 yards up the sideline to the Channel Islands 17. On the next play, Ghan-Gibson rolled to his right, saw the field open up to his left and took off running. He dove for the pylon but the officials ruled him down at the 2. He then handed off to Alfaro, who bulled his way into the end zone for the go-ahead score. Nathan Coffey?s PAT kick gave the Royals a 38-33 lead.
The game was a wild, see-saw battle.
The Royals scored first, with Ghan-Gibson hitting Cortez for a 22-yard TD. The PAT was blocked.
San Marcos’ Lucas Lamoutte breaks through a huge hole for a solid gain in the first half on Friday night.
Channel Islands responded on its next possession. Estrada hit big-play receiver Anderson, who made a juggling catch of the 25-yard pass. Ernesto Reyna?s PAT kick gave the Raiders a 7-6 lead at 2:26 of the first quarter.
Ghan-Gibson led the Royals on a 67-yard drive to reclaim the lead. Alfaro bolted over from 9 yards and Nathan Coffey?s kick made it 14-7.
Channel Islands recovered a fumble at the San Marcos 35 and converted it into a touchdown. Running back AJ Oto scored from 1 yard. The Raiders fumbled the PAT snap, leaving the Royals ahead 14-13 at 2:02 of the second quarter.
San Marcos couldn?t get anything going on its next possession and gave up the ball at the Channel Islands 30 with 55 seconds left in the half. On second down from the 36, Estrada went deep to Anderson and the 6-1 receiver used his height advantage to haul in a 64-yard touchdown pass, giving the Raiders a 20-14 halftime lead.
Anderson had five catches for 111 yards and Oto rushed for 182 yards and three touchdowns.
Linebaugh said at halftime the team didn?t talk much about making adjustments. Instead, they talked about character and commitment.
Faced with the challenge of coming from behind, the team demonstrated to its coach that it has character.
The Royals retook the lead in the third quarter when Ghan-Gibson hit Pugh over the middle for a 33-yard touchdown. Coffey?s kick made it 21-20.
But Channel Islands would sting San Marcos again with the big play. Oto got around the left corner and sped 64 yards for a 27-21 Raiders? advantage with 2:59 left in the third quarter.
Ghan-Gibson hit JoJo Estrada on pass plays of 18 and 38 yards, and the Royals got down to the 7. But the drive stalled and Coffey came in and booted a 24-yard field goal, cutting the deficit to 27-24.
The Royals? defense, led by a strong pass rush of Josh Beasley, held the Raiders on downs, giving the offense the ball at the 34. Behind the running and pass catching of Alfaro, San Marcos got the lead back. Alfaro scored on a 5-yard run for a 31-27 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Anderson returned the ball 56 yards to the San Marcos 41. The Raiders scored three plays later when Oto ran around the left end and kept going for a 37-yard touchdown. They went for a 2-point conversion but the Royals stopped them short of the end zone, leaving the score 33-31.
That set up the exciting finish for the Royals.
