Titans Remain Unbeaten but Must Settle for 17-17 Tie

With five seconds left in the game and San Pasqual trailing host Poway High 17-14, Eagles kicker Eric Olivares lined up for and drove home the most clutch 40-yard field goal of his high school career.

And just like that, two previously unbeaten schools each remain so as Friday night's hard-fought battle fittingly ended in a tie at 17-all.

“I was definitely nervous but my teammates on the sideline were encouraging me the whole time,” said Olivares, who joined the team this season after winning the kicking job in an open tryout. “Our team’s effort was outstanding tonight. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity that I did. They worked their butts off.”

Up by three with the ball and just over two and a half minutes remaining in the game, it was just a matter of running out the clock for Poway to hang on for the win.

With 1:20 left , however, Poway’s drive stalled and the Titans were
forced to punt, giving San Pasqual one last opportunity to make something happen.

The Eagles made the most of it.

Stymied by Poway’s tough defense for most of the game, San Pasqual was able drive 60 yards without a timeout in order to set up the equalizer.

“We had problems moving the ball all game,” said San Pasqual coach Tony Corley. “They’re a big, physical defense. But I was extremely proud of our guys’ effort. To keep fighting like that after being down 17-7, we could have folded the tents and gone home, but we persisted."

Taking a quick 10-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to a Jason Diaz 38-yard field goal and a blocked punt by Ryan Moreno that he recovered in the end zone for a touchdown, Poway was in control early.

While their passing game was virtually non-existent—zero yards on three completions—the Titans running attack managed to rack up 118 yards on the ground in the first half and Poway entered the locker room with a 10-7 lead.

It was Poway’s defense that would step up big in the second half though. San Pasqual came out and controlled the ball for 11 of the 12 minutes of the third quarter but came away empty-handed on each of its two long drives. The Titans offense literally disappeared, with their only possession of the quarter resulting in a three-and-out.

In fact, Poway wouldn’t gain a first down until early in the fourth quarter when the Titans finally were able to move the ball again, resulting in a touchdown that put them ahead 17-7 and in the driver’s seat, that is until San Pasqual began its late-quarter comeback.

“They controlled the clock so much with their running game, it was hard to get a rhythm going,” Poway coach Damian Gonzalez said. “Finally we were able to establish something like an 18-play drive, and that was fantastic to be able to do that, but we had an opportunity to close out the game at the end and we didn’t do it. That was tough.”

Though Poway’s defense and running game put forth a great effort, the Titans' offensive struggles, particularly through the air, most likely had
something to do with the fact that both the starting and back-up quarterbacks were sidelined with injuries. That forced the coaching staff to convert wide receiver Conor Flanagan to QB halfway through the week.

“It’s hard to come into a game without either of your quarterbacks, so I think we were already kind of behind the eight ball to begin with,” Gonzalez said. “But I was impressed with how our kids responded and how they played. I thought we had a great effort tonight.”

Despite Poway’s offensive setbacks and abundant penalties and turnovers for both teams, neither school has yet to lose a game this season. Judging by the expressions on the field afterward however, clearly it was an exciting finish for San Pasqual, while for
the Titans, the tie was tough to swallow.

“We didn’t expect a tie, we expected to win,” Gonzalez said. “When you don’t win it’s a disappointment. It’s not a loss either so we don’t have one of those yet, but yeah, I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t get the win.”

—Steve Trader