ATHERTON — University Prep came to Sacred Heart Prep toting an undefeated record. The Gators defended their home turf well-equipped to hand the Panthers their first loss.
Not only did Sacred Heart Prep beat the undefeated, they shut out University Prep of Redding with a 20-0 win in the CIF Northern California 5-A Championship on Saturday afternoon in Atherton. The Gators will face the winner of a Righetti-Santa Maria, Northwood-Irvine playoff game for the 5-A state title set for Dec. 11.
But for now, the Gators celebrated their seventh win of the season and another step taken together toward the top prize. After losing four straight by single digits to St. Ignatius, Mountain View, Hillsdale, Burlingame, Half Moon Bay and Menlo School when the season began, head coach Mark Grieb applauded his team’s bounce-back season.
“It’s been one of those seasons. A lot of moments where the guys were deflated,” Grieb said. “There were some bus rides that were pretty quiet. You could hear a pin drop. But today they put in so much heart and continue to work and get better and play like a team.”
The game wasn’t flashy, but Sacred Heart Prep found success with a handful of big plays in timely moments and a defense that wouldn’t give to University Prep’s run game.
The Gators’ first drive set the tone, Grieb said. Colored by quarterback Jack Herrell’s 34-yard pass to receiver Jake York down the line on second down and a 10-yard pass to tight end Mat Bucher, Sacred Heart put their first points on the board with a three-yard rushing touchdown by running back Andrew Latu.
“We kept chipping away at them until they eventually slipped up or something,” Latu said. “We just capitalized on their mistakes.”
On the first play of the drive in the second quarter, Herrell found Latu on a wheel-route the second quarter for an 80-yard touchdown that had the home crowd up on its feet.
The Gators entered the half with a comfortable 14-0 lead winded by plenty of crucial conversions on offense. It was a lead pillared by strong defensive stands, particularly in the red zone.
University Prep, the Northern Section Division IV champion, operates a run-heavy offense, two-thirds of their yards earned on the ground. In the first quarter, the Panthers found themselves with an opportunity to answer the Gators’ first score. Sacred Heart LB Anthony Noto sniffed and stuffed a Panthers rushing play on fourth-and-1 to reverse possession and set the tone for SHP defensively.
“We were able to hold them out once they got inside the 10, I thought that was a statement right there,” Grieb said. “There were a few things that happened where we gave them a little bit of hope, but we never gave up a touchdown.”
The Panthers missed a 47-yard field goal on their next possession and turned the ball over on downs three times in the game.
“Our defense locked up,” Latu said. “You get them zero points, that’s a big goal and success.”
A 17-yard reception by York ended the third quarter and began the Gators’ final touchdown drive. Luis Mendoza converted on fourth-and-one with a five-yard rush and Noto finished off the drive with a 10-yard rushing touchdown. The Panthers blocked the extra point.
Once the clock expired and the Gators gathered in the endzone to debrief, reality set in. Entering the title game with a losing record, the Gators catapulted themselves into the state championship game. The team had come far emotionally, Grieb noticed.
“We sat there last night at the team dinner and normally, as soon as they’re done I stand up and say a few words,” he said. “But I just sat there for a while because they were enjoying one another. I think they genuinely do, and that’s what you hope for.”
Sacred Heart Prep played and won in its third NorCal championship game. They beat El Cerrito in 2013 and McClymonds in 2015, but lost the state championship each of those two years.
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