Capital Christian rallies in final minutes to pick off Placer for D-III title crown
Capital Christian scored 11 points in the final three minutes of Saturday’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division III Championship game to defeat Placer 25-22 in a matchup of unbeaten teams.
Placer (12-1) led 22-14 and had a couple of chances to put the game away in the fourth quarter but couldn’t convert third downs.
With 4:48 to play, top-seeded Capital Christian (13-0) got the ball and almost methodically went downfield. Senior quarterback Cooper Crick found senior wide receiver Trey Jones three times for to dive the Cougars 66 yards and a score. Capital Christian went for a 2-point conversion in which they stacked almost everyone on the left side, then senior running back D’Marcus Ross ran to the right side, overpowering the remaining defenders to tie up the game with 2:53 to play.
Placer was aggressive and passed on its drive, but couldn’t get anything going before senior quarterback Michael Stuck threw an interception to Ross who ran the ball back to the Hillmen’s 12-yard line with under two minutes to play.
Placer stopped the Cougars, and forced a field goal. Kenyon Bowyer, lined up for a 29-yard field goal, was 6-of-10 kicking field goals this season, the longest being 40 yards.
“I turned around, I couldn’t watch,” said senior defensive back Damion Malott Jr.
But Bowyer nailed the kick with 53 seconds left to give the Cougars the edge.
“I just wanted to go out there and put it through the uprights,” Bowyer said. “We practice it every week, and on Tuesdays we chart, and that is exactly what I was able to do.”
With one last possession, Stuck threw an interception to Malott.
“Malott is a great player,” Ross said. “His play in the secondary put us in a good position to make better plays on offense. He really clinched the game at the end and without him we wouldn’t have this hat, this ring and this section championship.”
Last season, Capital Christian fell to Bear River in the first round of the Division V playoffs. This year they ran the table and won every game to set up their Northern California regional playoff game next week.
On the first drive of the game, Placer carried the ball on every play and ended the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by Andrew Garza.
Capital Christian converted two third downs on its first drive of the game until they got to a fourth down at the Placer 31-yard line. The Cougars went for it and Crick handed the ball off to Ross. Ross nearly got tackled five yards behind the line of scrimmage but broke out of a tackle and looped the ball to Crick who caught the ball in stride at the 27-yard line and ran the ball into the end zone to tie the game up.
With 8:58 to play in the second, Placer was stopped on a fourth-down attempt. Four minutes later, on a 3rd and 13 for Capital Christian, Crick rolled out nearly to the sideline before putting the ball perfectly into the hands of junior wide receiver Max Rodarte to take a 14-7 lead.
Capital Christian forced the Hillmen into a punt and had a touchdown by Ross called back because of an illegal substitution. Two plays later, Ross was hit in the backfield by junior defensive end Micah Yokum, forcing a fumble that the Hillmen took over at the Cougars’ 35-yard line. On the next play, Stuck hit senior wide receiver Cyrus O’Neal for a 35-yard touchdown. The extra point was blocked, giving the Cougars a 14-13 advantage at the half.
On the Cougars’ first possession of the third quarter, a snap went over Bowyer’s head as he awaited a punt for a safety to give Placer a 15-14 lead. The Hillmen extended the lead to 22-14 with 30 seconds to play in the third quarter on a touchdown run by junior running back Hans Grassmann. The Hillmen had three chances to put the game away by running out the clock but kept giving the ball back to the Cougars. Malott intercepted Stuck three times.
This story was originally published December 1, 2018 at 11:41 PM.