Freshman QB lifts Christian Brothers into section final with dramatic win over Woodcreek

Christian Brothers head coach Larry Morla lifted freshman quarterback Deakon Holden over his shoulders in celebration as he got back to the sideline. It was because Holden had just put Morla’s team on his back.

“He’s very mature for his 14-year-old head,” Morla said of Holden afterwards. “He’s ready to go no matter what, and even though he lost his starting job ... he was always ready.”

Holden was the story of Christian Brothers’ comeback win over Woodcreek in the Division III semifinals of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs Friday night. He threw a pair of touchdown passes to tight end Marcus Price after Woodcreek stole momentum in the second quarter with back-to-back touchdown drives to take a seven-point lead.

Both of Price’s touchdowns were dramatic as the Falcons advanced to next week’s section championship game with a 20-14 victory.

Price’s second touchdown, a 22-yard reception over the middle, came with 28 seconds remaining and broke a tie at 14. It was the decisive score. The first came on a fouth-and-2 earlier in the fourth quarter, just moments after Holden entered the game for Christian Brothers starting quarterback William Littlejohn.

Littlejohn, a junior, left the game with an apparent leg injury while the Falcons were trailing 14-7. Holden ran the offense and handed the ball off to thunder-and-lightning running backs Erik Jenson and Ezekiel Castex, setting up a fourth-and-2 from the Woodcreek 27-yard line.

It was a cold, windy night at Christian Brothers’ home field, and both offenses struggled to get their passing games going. Nearly everyone packed in at Peter P. Bollinger Stadium was expecting another run to keep the drive alive.

But Morla and his coaching staff trusted Holden to make a play with their season in the balance. Holden, after all, started a handful of games in place of Littlejohn early in the season as the incumbent dealt with a hand injury, and more recently, Holden appeared in a game against Vista Del Lago.

“I knew we were gonna score,” Holden told The Bee when asked about the play call.

Indeed, with the entire stadium expecting a running play on fourth-and-short, Holden dropped back and launched a deep pass to Price running a post. It was lofted where only Price could get it, and suddenly the tenor of the game changed as the ball fell into his hands and he crossed the goal line.

“They were double- and triple-teaming Phil (Bell),” Morla said, “so they took him completely out of the game. So our next person up was Marcus Price. He did great, never came off the field. He made plays for us and doesn’t drop balls.”

Bell, Christian Brothers’ sophomore star receiver and safety, was recently given a scholarship offer from USC after garnering interest from a slew of schools in the south, including Texas and other blueblood SEC programs. That wasn’t lost on Woodcreek, which lined up a cornerback and safety over the top of him nearly every play, forcing the Falcons to go another direction.

Price finished with 88 yards on six catches while Bell only had three receptions for 20 yards. Running back Landon Howard scored the game’s first touchdown early in the opening quarter. For Woodcreek, quarterback Austin Katapolis had a 1-yard touchdown on a sneak and running back Caleb Panlilio scored on a 25-yard run. The Timberwolves, the No. 8 seed, were coming off an upset win over No. 1 seed Placer in last week’s quarterfinals.

The game-winning touchdown Friday came after a Castex run to the 1-yard line inside the final minute was called back due to a holding penalty. The Falcons had been in range to score, but a 37-yard field goal was no guarantee — and with so little time left, they could be aggressive in trying to reach the end zone.

So Holden dropped back for another pass to Price over the middle, this one was a slant. Price broke a tackle and dragged a Woodcreek defender over the goal line with him for the game-winning score. That was when Morla lifted Holden in celebration.

The hard earned victory sends the Falcons to next week’s section final for the first time since 2016, when they lost to Oakdale. Christian Brothers, the No. 4 seed in the bracket, hasn’t won a section title since 1983, two years after a championship in ‘81. The Falcons will take on the third-seeded Grant Pacers, who scored at will in an 80-44 victory over Patterson in Friday’s semifinals.

This story was originally published November 19, 2022 at 12:05 AM.