Serra vs. St. Francis: The scary scene at CCS final
I didn’t hear the gunshots in the parking lot amid the roars of the crowd as Serra was about to score what turned out to be the winning touchdown with a little more than two minutes left against St. Francis.
There was nothing out of the ordinary in the moments that followed on Friday night in the Central Coast Section Division I championship game at Westmont High.
Serra went for a two-point conversion. The play unfolded right in front of me on the sideline.
St. Francis stopped the Padres at the goal line. There was 2:18 on the clock, Serra led by four.
I was thinking that St. Francis had faced this exact deficit before. In the team’s historic victory over De La Salle in September, the Lancers gave up a touchdown with 1:38 left to fall four points behind. They responded with an epic drive that ended with St. Francis scoring a touchdown with 16 seconds remaining to become the first team from this region in 30 years to beat De La Salle.
As I prepared for the kickoff surrounded by other reporters, I noticed that the entire St. Francis team was on the ground.
What was going on?
Was this a new prayer ritual?
Then someone mentioned gunshots.
I immediately hit the deck, too, as did others around me. At that point, I didn’t know where the shots had come from. The stands, the perimeter of the stadium packed with more than 5,000 spectators, the field? Was the shooter or shooters on the loose?
For a few minutes there, I seriously wondered if I was about to get hit.
Some terrified fans scurried toward the exits. Numerous Serra players ran up a small embankment behind one of the end zones, toward a fence that surrounds the stadium.
There were sirens and a helicopter — presumably a police helicopter — hovering above.
When it became clear that the shooting happened in the parking lot, I began to ask questions. Did anyone hear the shots? Turns out, others had heard them just before the snap on the winning touchdown.
Was the game going to continue?
Did it really matter? Of course, it mattered to these kids who worked all season for this game, after many of them lost the opportunity to participate in the playoffs last season because of the pandemic.
The CCS officials were great, keeping reporters informed as to what was going on.
The game would resume when police said it was safe to do so.
I called one of our editors, asking him to write a quick story off my Twitter timeline and post it.
The story went up around 9:30 p.m., with updates through the night by news reporter Jakob Rodgers.
According to police, two adult men were wounded in the shooting. Police haven’t made any arrests and it’s unknown if the shooting was at all related to the game.
Play resumed at 9:36 p.m. after CCS officials gave each team about five minutes to warm up on a chilly evening.
St. Francis reached midfield but was stopped on downs.
The Lancers’ magical season was over.
Serra won the championship 20 days after losing at home to St. Francis 44-21.
Sunday, Serra received the bid to play Mater Dei on Dec. 11 in the Open Division state championship game at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, which would have been St. Francis’ bid had the Lancers won.
As he left the stadium Friday, St. Francis coach Greg Calcagno was asked about the gunshots.
“After COVID and everything, it’s just one more thing to add to the list, right? Obviously, our guys being safe is the most important thing,” he said. “Everybody was safe and people didn’t panic, which is great. It could have been a real disaster.
“But calmer heads prevailed and at the end of the day, we’re playing a football game. We don’t want anybody to get hurt. I thought everybody did a great job.”
— Darren Sabedra
NCS D-I champ Pittsburg heads to Bakersfield
Pittsburg coach Victor Galli thought he would have a relaxing Sunday. He was going to the 49ers game, where he would continue to celebrate the Pirates’ 28-14 victory over Clayton Valley Charter in the North Coast Section Division I title game Friday night.
Then his phone started ringing. The CIF selection committee was sending Pittsburg to Bakersfield to play Liberty-Bakersfield on Saturday at 6 p.m.
“I don’t understand the logic,” Galli said loudly, trying to make himself heard above the crowd noise at Levi Stadium. “Look how we handled Clayton Valley. Clayton Valley beat this team. How is it that we get to travel five hours? If we win, we might as well get a hotel and stay down there.”
The Pirates (9-2) would play the Long Beach Poly-Serra (Gardena) winner for the CIF State 1A championship on Dec. 11 at 4 p.m. if they beat Liberty (10-2). The game is at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo.
After the NCS title game Friday night, speculation centered around a Pittsburg-Liberty matchup for the NorCal crown. But everyone anticipated the game would be in the East Bay since Clayton Valley edged the Patriots 14-13 at the Honor Bowl in September.
Not in this case. The 10 section commissioners who comprise the selection committee decided Pittsburg would travel. Despite the Pirates’ win over Clayton Valley, calpreps.com ranks Liberty No. 22 in the state compared to Pittsburg’s No. 35. Liberty is ranked No. 1 in the Central Section while Pitt is No. 2 behind De La Salle in NCS.
“I don’t want to complain,” Galli said. “We’re playing while others are sitting home. But some things don’t make sense.”
Before the matchups were announced on Sunday, MaxPreps predicted a Pittsburg vs. Central Catholic-Modesto matchup. It did not try to forecast where the game would be played. Cal-Hi Sports correctly picked Pittsburg-Liberty, but it wasn’t choosing venues, either.
Galli was far more bummed about having to travel to Bakersfield than playing Liberty. He wondered why the game couldn’t have been played at a neutral site.
“Play it halfway,” he said, meaning between Pittsburg and Bakersfield.
By the end of the conversation, the 49ers were driving, the crowd was getting noisy and Galli was tired of being on the phone.
“Now everybody is calling me,” he said.
It’s only starting, as Galli’s week is about to get a lot busier.
— Mike Lefkow
Campo: Coach doesn’t change his tune
Kevin Macy always stays on message. The longtime Campolindo coach had just watched his team win the North Coast Section Division II championship on the road Saturday night, holding off Foothill with an interception in the end zone in the final minute.
Amid the celebration, Macy was asked about taking this year’s team to a NorCal regional. His response was what we have come to expect from the coach who keeps adding trophies and pennants to the school’s collection.
“I don’t know,” Macy said Saturday night about NorCals. “We are down to 12 guys only on defense. They’re so worn out. This is going to be a very tough, emotional turnaround next week. I know what they’re going to do — like they’ve done every other year. We’re going to play some team that’s a little bit above us, which is fine.
“But we’re going to have to dig back in for that one more team that’s a little bit above us.”
Turns out, the CIF selection committee scheduled an intriguing matchup. Campo will play at McClymonds for the 3-A championship Saturday night. Campo is rated No. 100 in the state by calpreps.com’s computer, McClymonds 108th.
— Darren Sabedra
SHP: Back in familiar territory
Sacred Heart Prep head coach Mark Grieb joined the staff as an assistant during the 2015 season when the Gators finished as the CIF Division III-A state runner-up.
The previous year SHP went undefeated, but drew the short straw in a flawed system and wasn’t allowed into the state playoffs.
It’s been hit-and-miss for the Gators ever since, including a 2016 season that resulted in a 2-8 record. Both wins came against opponents in the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division, with the top-four teams in the standings regarded as automatic CCS qualifiers.
SHP participated in the postseason and proved it belonged by advancing to the semifinals.
Flash forward to 2021 and the Gators qualified for the CCS playoffs with a 3-7 record, only to crush the competition and claim the Division IV trophy.
Once again, SHP finished fourth in the PAL Bay – a current loophole into the playoffs.
“There’s parts of me that feel the same way, too,” Grieb said. “Should a 3-7 team even get a shot to be in the playoffs? I guess if I was designing the playoff system it probably wouldn’t be the way it is, but that’s the system we’ve got. Like it or not, we had a chance.
“And when you give a chance, you never know.”
Grieb, a former quarterback in the now-defunct Arena Football League, recollected how in 2006 the Chicago Rush finished the regular season with a losing record and rallied to win a championship.
“It’s crazy how it works out like that,” Grieb said. “Sometimes you get hot at the right time and you just improve and get better.”
SHP hosts University Prep out of Redding in the CIF NorCal 5-A title game on Saturday at 1 p.m.
— Vytas Mazeika
Weekend leftovers
By now it’s pretty common knowledge that Tim Murphy will return to Clayton Valley next season. Shortly before this season began, Murphy announced this would be his last year. But Murphy’s daughter has decided to take online college courses rather than attend Long Beach State, and he made arrangements to take care of his elderly parents one day a week while his assistants run the team. Nick Tisa, who was going to replace Murphy, is also staying as his top assistant. … The Diablo Athletic League could switch to an 8-4 divisional format next season, Benicia coach Craig Holden said. Northgate and College Park would move to the Foothill Division, joining the Lamorinda schools (Campolindo, Las Lomas, Acalanes, Miramonte), Alhambra and Benicia. The four-team Valley Division would consist of Berean Christian, Concord, Mt. Diablo and Ygnacio Valley.
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