SACRAMENTO – San Clemente gathered the night before the CIF State Division 1-A football championship to watch the movie “Undefeated,” a selection by Coach Jaime Ortiz in an effort to make his team count its blessings.
The Tritons had their own magical script, but saved the best dramatic elements and raw displays of emotion for their duel against Del Oro of Loomis at Sacramento State on Saturday.
San Clemente rallied from a 17-point deficit late in the first half to stun the reigning state champion Eagles, 22-17, behind an electric, 54-yard punt return for a touchdown by Brandon Reaves in the fourth quarter.
Reaves’ score gave San Clemente (13-3) its first lead with 5:38 left, but the plot twists didn’t stop there.
Defensive end Austin Moore, a postseason force, recorded his third sack on fourth down to end Del Oro’s next possession. But with 48 seconds left, the Eagles (13-3) recovered a fumble by quarterback Jack Sears in their end zone to stay alive.
But on the final play, Sears intercepted the desperation Hail Mary, igniting a wild celebration in the far end zone. The USC-bound senior slid after making the catch near his 24, and was mobbed by his teammates near the goal post.
San Clemente, which opened in 1964 and won its first CIF-SS title this fall after consecutive heartbreaking losses in the finals, was a California champion, also for the first time.
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Reaves sobbed as he was embraced by teammates.
“This is like a fairy tale,” said Reaves, who scored the winning TD with 48 seconds left last week against Edison in the SoCal final. “It’s overwhelming. It feels great, though, to have all my teammates love me. We all love each other. We’re all brothers. … (We’re) really blessed.”
San Clemente trailed, 17-9, at halftime but its defense produced the stops in the second half, giving chances for Reaves to work his magic on punt returns.
After a scoreless third quarter, the senior broke a 27-yard punt return to the Del Oro 38 with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth. He extended the drive with a fourth-down conversion. Sears then connected with Keith Jones for a 25-yard reception on third down to the Del Oro 1. Reaves scored two plays later as the Tritons trimmed their deficit to 17-15 with 6:48 left.
Moore then ended the ensuing drive with a sack to the Del Oro 16, setting the stage for Reaves’ tackle-busting return.
“Brandon Reaves’ punt return was the game-changer of this whole thing,” Moore said. “Blocking for him on that (return), it felt amazing to see him score.”
San Clemente’s defense, coordinated by Ortiz, also emerged as a game-changer. Del Oro, which won the Division II-AA title last season, didn’t score after a field goal with 3:50 left in the first half.
The Tritons blitzed more in the second half and received a push from Moore, Turner Tonkovich and Garrett Silverman.
“Our defense made this whole game a turnaround,” Moore said. “We all went full throttle and stepped on their throats at the end.”
Sears gained some redemption with the victory-sealing interception. Del Oro’s Camrion Davis intercepted him twice, including once at the Eagles’ 6 late in the third quarter on a fourth-and-2.
“That’s a team win right there,” Sears said. “They carried me, helped me get through this one. We all share in this victory.”
Veteran offensive line coach Jon Hamro said Sears showed his competiveness on the final play.
“He’s tough,” Hamro said. “He’s the real deal.”
San Clemente’s defense and special teams started to turn the momentum late in the second period.
Silverman sacked and forced a fumble on quarterback Stone Smartt that Moore recovered at the Eagles’ 10 with 2:34 left in the half.
Three plays later, Sears tossed a 12-yard TD pass to Chase Berman with 1:05 remaining in the half.
San Clemente’s defense also forced a punt with 18 seconds left. Del Oro then sailed its snap coming out of a Tritons’ timeout into the end zone. Sophomore RJ Donaldson recorded the safety in the end zone to cut Del Oro’s lead to 17-9.
Ortiz thought his team took Del Oro’s “best punch” in the first half and delivered its own blows in the second half to cap its breakthrough season.
“We’re one town, one team,” Ortiz said. “The biggest thing for me is taking that trophy home. There’s no doubt (Sunday) afternoon, our parking lot is going to be packed.”
Contact the writer: dalbano@scng.com
