Football: Las Lomas Rallies in Final Minutes to Turn Back Campolindo 30-28

Las Lomas 30, Campolindo 28

The Star:  Las Lomas running back Marquis Waters, the DFAL's leading rusher, carried 29 times for 176 yards and three touchdowns.

The Turning Point: Trailing 28-27, Las Lomas started its final drive at its own 1-yard-line with 1:52 left. On first down, Campolindo was penalized for pass interference then sophomore quarterback Jackson Miller completed four-straight passes, igniting the game-winning drive.

The Quote: "It's always, always a battle here. We let them back in the game, and they did a good job. (Campolindo quarterback) Brett Stephens is a heck of a player. But our sophomore quarterback showed composure. He did a good job getting the ball down the field. We did a good job and came back and pulled it out at the end," Las Lomas coach Doug Longero said.

What's Next?  Las Lomas returns home to face Acalanes on Friday night at 7 in both teams' regular-season finale.

Bottom line:  The Knights squandered their 27-7 lead but had enough resiliency to drive nearly the length of the field for Mitchell Howard's game-winning, 27-yard field goal with two seconds left.

——————————

When sophomore Mitchell Howard lined up to try a 27-yard field goal Friday night, the Knights trailed Campolindo 28-27 with just six seconds left to play.

Pressure? What pressure? All that was riding on Howard's left foot was the outcome of Friday night's game and the Knights' playoff hopes.

"It was so scary," Howard said. "But just like normal, slow your heart down, take your time, do like in practice."

Howard calmly – or maybe not so calmly – drilled the game-winner with just two seconds left, lifting Las Lomas to a 30-28 victory after it had blown a 27-7 fourth-quarter lead.

"It's a good win for us and keeps us alive for the playoffs," Las Lomas coach Doug Longero said.

Technically, the Knights became eligible for the postseason with their victory over Campolindo because they improved to 3-2 in the DFAL and assured themselves of finishing at least .500 in league play.

The reality is that Longero won't attempt to receive an at-large berth to the NCS Division II playoffs unless his team finishes .500 overall. The Knights are 4-5 with one game remaining, at home against Acalanes.

"Our rule is we've got to be 5-5," Longero said. "My belief is a 4-6 team doesn't belong in the playoffs. That's how I've always been, and I'll always be that way. We've got a battle next week.

"We let one go last week," he said of the Knights' . "We've just got to go in next week and try to get a win."

The Knights have now won three of their past four games, including a .

With Marquis Waters back on track for 176 rushing yards and three touchdowns after being held to just 23 yards last week, Las Lomas looked like it would cruise to a victory Friday night. The Knights bolted to a 20-0 first-half lead and led 27-7 entering the fourth quarter.

But Campolindo, with quarterback Brett Stephens and wide receiver Karl Thornton playing pitch and catch, struck for three quick touchdowns to take a 28-27 lead with 6:44 left to play. Stephens threw for 203 yards and two scores, and Thornton caught 13 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown.

"We were going crazy on the sideline, and I'm going to tell you, Campolindo shut us up there for a little bit," said Knights sophomore quarterback Jackson Miller, who completed his first five passes and threw for 150 yards. "They're a great team. They played a hell of a game."

The Knights' next drive ended with a punt, but they forced Campolindo to punt. Cougars punter Marco Tavecchio nailed a 50-yard gem that was downed at the Las Lomas 1-yard line with 1:53 to play.

"My heart just kind of stopped when I saw the ball die," Miller said.

On first down, Campolindo was flagged for pass interference, giving the Knights a first down at their 16. Then Miller connected four-straight times to wide receiver Kevin Merhoff — he had eight catches for 104 yards — moving the Knights to Campolindo's 44 with 1:07 still left.

"We got lucky on a penalty early, and coach Longero called perfect plays and made it easy on me," Miller said. "Passes were wide open. Receivers were making the plays. Just an all-out team effort made it easy for me."

On second-and-10, Campolindo was hit with another pass interference penalty. Then Waters gashed the Cougars for 15 yards on a draw play, giving Las Lomas a first down at the 14 with 50 seconds left. After spiking the ball to stop the clock, Miller hit Danny Smith for 8 yards to the 6-yard line.

Waters came up six inches short on a third-and-two run, but the Knights went for it on fourth down, and he powered for two yards to the three with 28 seconds left.

At that point, chaos erupted. Miller, planning to spike the ball, fumbled the snap, and the ball bounced away from him, but running back Jake Villa recovered at the 9-yard line with the clock running down. The Knights lined up quickly, and this time Miller spiked the ball with 6 seconds left.

"I bobbled the ball on the snap, dropped it, freaked out, threw it down," Miller said. "It was a giant mess. I about threw up after that play. Luckily Mitchell came through. Mitchell made an amazing kick."

Earlier in the game after the Knights' second touchdown, Howard had his PAT blocked following a low snap. Everything – snap, hold, kick, protection – was perfect on the field goal attempt.

"Give the guy credit," Campolindo's Stephens said. "The kid hit a great kick. They had to go ninety-some yards and did it. They did a heck of a job."

——————————

Las Lomas 30, Campolindo 28

Las Lomas 7 13 7 3 -- 30

Campolindo 0 7 0 21 -- 28

Scoring Summary

7:15, 1^st: L – Sabella 4 run (Howard kick)

9:03, 2^nd: L – Waters 1 run (kick blocked)

4:15, 2^nd: L – Waters 5 run (Howard kick)

00:12, 2^nd: C – Thornton 8 pass from Stephens (Tavecchio kick)

2:05, 3^rd: L – Waters 4 run (Howard kick)

11:53, 4^th: C – Fadelli 24 pass from Stephens (Milner kick)

9:31, 4^th: C -- Zolintakis 3 pass from Stephens (Tavecchio kick)

6:44, 4^th: C – Stephens 7 run (Milner kick)

00:02, 4^th: L – Howard 27 FG

Individual Statistics

Rushing (car-yards): L – Waters 29-176, Romez 3-19, Sabella 4-13, Merhoff 10-11, Ow 1-4, Miller 3-minus-8.  C – Margerum 7-18, Ebarle 3-20, Zolintakis 3-9, Bertrand 4-9, Baker 1-7, Stephens 7-minus-5.

Passing (comp-att-yards-ints): L – Miller 12-18-150-1. C –  Stephens 17-25-203-0, Zolintakis 2-3-56-1.

Receiving (rec-yds): L – Merhoff 7-104, Smith 4-40, Villa 1-6.  C – Thornton 13-111, Fadelli 3-91, Baker 3-54, Zolintakis 1-3j.

Team offense (rushing-passing-total)

Las Lomas  – 215-150-365

Campolindo – 58-203-261                              

Fumbles/lost:  L -- 3/1. C – 2/0.

Records:  Las Lomas 4-5, 3-2 DFAL.  Campolindo 5-5, 1-5 DFAL.

 ——————————

Follow Patch Sports East Bay on Twitter

——————————

East Bay Football Coverage

Alameda Contra Costa Athletic League

Alameda 71, Richmond 46 — Alameda — By Peter Fournier

Berkeley 33, Hercules 0 — Hercules — By Richard Paolinelli

Pinole Valley 49, El Cerrito 13 — El Cerrito / Pinole — By Jordan Conn

Bay Football League

Valley Christian 55, St. Elizabeth 6 — Dublin — By Joey Brownlee

Bay Shore Athletic League

Encinal 47, Kennedy 12 — Alameda — By Chris Nguon

Moreau Catholic 28, Piedmont 13 — Piedmont — By Mustafa Shaikh

St. Patrick/St. Vincent 63, John Swett 13

Diablo Foothill Athletic League

Alhambra 27, Dougherty Valley 14 — San Ramon — By Chuck Nan

Miramonte 26, Dublin 17 — Dublin / Lamorinda — By Bill Soliday

Las Lomas 30, Campolindo 28 — Lamorinda / Walnut Creek — By Eric Gilmore

Diablo Valley Athletic League

Concord 78, Northgate 12 — Walnut Creek — By Jim Mannion

East Bay Athletic League

Amador Valley 24, San Ramon Valley 21 —  /  — By Trevor Murphy

California 49, Foothill 7 — Pleasanton / San Ramon — By Kyle Bonagura

De La Salle 49, Livermore 0 — Livermore — By Kyle Yamamoto

Monte Vista 37, Granada 22 —  / Livermore — By Brandon Nicholson

Hayward Area Athletic League

Arroyo 28, Tennyson 27

Bishop O'Dowd 29, San Leandro 20

Castro Valley 29, Hayward 26 — Castro Valley — By Matt Rempel

Mission Valley Athletic League

James Logan 32, Newark Memorial 6 — Union City — By Pierre Bautista

Washington  73, Mission San Jose 0