ATHERTON – Few students at Sacred Heart Prep figure to be more versed on the football program’s rise to prominence than senior quarterback Jack Herrell.
He grew up on campus as the Gators claimed five Central Coast Section titles over a six-year span along with NorCal trophies in 2013 and ‘15.
Saturday afternoon proved to be his opportunity to expand on the football legacy at SHP with the school’s first-ever state title in a 16-0 victory over visiting Righetti of Santa Maria in the CIF Division 5-A championship game.
“It’s crazy,” said Herrell, one of four co-captains. “It’s kind of hard to soak in the moment. I’ve been here since preschool and I say it all the time in the interviews, I’ve watched so many great football teams roll through the school. I’ve watched guys – John Oppenheimer, Mason Randall, Andrew Daschbach, Ben Burr-Kirven – get to the highest level in state games and unfortunately not be able to come through.
“This opportunity, to be able to play in a state game, is one thing. But being able to finish it is another thing. It’s a testament to our team and the adversity that we’ve had this season.”
SHP (8-7), which previously only sat above .500 after winning its first game, lost seven of the next nine times to close out the regular season.
Yet the Gators never lost faith and strung together an unlikely narrative behind a bullish defense that only allowed six touchdowns over five games in the playoffs and recorded three shutouts, including last week’s NorCal tilt against a previously unbeaten University Prep (Redding).
“This is what we dreamed about,” SHP senior John Adrian Dioli said. “If you told us when we were 3-7 entering the playoffs that we were going to be here today, I would’ve thought you were crazy.
“But here we are.”
“It’s probably cliché, but you kind of try to take it one day at a time,” SHP coach Mark Grieb said. “But then you find yourself here and you’ve got an opportunity. And I’ll say this: Our team made the most of the opportunity.”
Fourth downs prevailed as a theme throughout.
SHP converted a fourth-and-one to extend its first possession, a 12-play, 42-yard drive which concluded with a touchdown run by sophomore Anthony Noto from 2 yards out with 4:18 left in the first quarter.
“It’s kind of all just overwhelming and I’m just so happy it happened,” Noto said. “I mean, this is a season unheard of. We had to weather the storm, keep fighting, keep working to get to where we wanted to go. And, in the end, we got there.”
Righetti (6-9) attempted to respond as it embarked on a time-consuming 13-play drive that stalled on the SHP 1-yard line after a monumental goal-line stand by the Gators.
“You’ve got to get it done, do whatever it takes,” Noto said. “Get in there and stop the ball.”
On SHP’s next offensive snap, Herrell hit wide receiver Jake York for a 38-yard completion off a pass tipped at the line of scrimmage.
“One thing that we’ve figured out through this playoff run is how to take momentum and run with it,” Herrell said.
SHP eventually marched a total of 98 yards before settling for a 19-yard field goal by Sean Tinsley with 71 seconds left to go into intermission up 10-0.
“I like to put pressure on the other team,” Grieb said. “When you get a fourth-and-one, just them knowing that you can stay on the field, it’s deflating. And down there at the end of the first (half), I knew that if they were to stop us there, it gives them energy going into halftime. … So I wanted to make it a two-score game and I thought that was a commanding lead at that point in the game.”
Both teams kept hurting themselves after halftime, with a pair of turnover on downs and a punt by the Gators on their first three possessions.
Righetti didn’t do itself any favors by failing to convert a fourth-and-one to go along with a trio of turnovers that included fumble recoveries by freshman Aseli Fangupo and junior Andrew Rocha.
The latter led to a fourth-quarter insurance score for SHP on a 1-yard plunge by senior Luis Mendoza.
Moments later, an interception by junior John Chung for all intents and purposes sealed the state title with 2:55 left in the game.
The Gators put up 138 yards on the ground, with an equal 138 yards through the air – most of those coming on three catches for 100 yards by York.
It was enough to make history in Atherton.
“This is the perfect ending to my story at Sacred Heart and the perfect ending to all of us seniors at Sacred Heart,” Herrell said.
Source: www.mercurynews.com