Last Friday’s San Diego Section Division V football championship game between the second-seeded Castle Park Trojans and fourth-seeded Francis Parker Lancers began and ended in light rain at Otay Ranch High School.
The stretches between the wet weather added up to a great high school football game by both teams that quite appropriately wasn’t decided until the final seconds.
Francis Parker won, 24-21, on a 27-yard field goal by junior Cito Miller with 21 seconds remaining in regulation.
It was a game of what could have been for the Trojans, who concluded an otherwise magnificent season with an 11-2 record.
“We made some mistakes and they capitalized on them,” Castle Park head coach Chris Livesay said. “We’ve got to play better in big games. That happens with a young team. We’ll be better next year. The next season starts tomorrow.”
Castle Park’s undoing came on a pair of second-half turnovers that led to touchdowns in both cases for Francis Parker, which had finished runner-up in last year’s division championship game to Orange Glen.
With the Trojans leading, 14-7, and driving for another score, Castle Park receiver Chris Romero made a catch along the sideline but had the ball stripped from his grasp by Parker freshman Chris Williams before he could go out of bounds.
The Lancers (8-5) capitalized on the turnover when sophomore quarterback Gervy Alota hit freshman receiver Chris White on a 59-yard touchdown bomb with 2:10 left in the third quarter to tie the score 14-14.
Francis Parker junior Sam Carrillo made an interception on the first play of the fourth quarter to place the ball at the Castle Park 35-yard line. It took the Lancers 50 seconds to score when Alota scored on a seven-yard run to put Parker in front 21-14.
The Trojans methodically drove down the field until junior running back Erik Hernandez scored from 13 yards out with 6:35 left to tie the game 21-all.
The Lancers then fielded a short kickoff at their own 39-yard line and methodically drove down the field to kick the game-winning field goal.
Senior Trevor Brokowski took a pitch to the Trojan 10-yard line with 27 seconds to play. On fourth-and-one Miller booted the ball just inside the upright for a 24-21 lead.
Castle Park got the ball back at the 36-yard line with 12 seconds left in the game. Trojan senior quarterback Demarkus Lewis’s first pass was incomplete. He then connected on a short pass to Romero with five seconds to play but Romero was unable to advance the ball into Parker territory as the scoreboard clock reached zeroes.
Livesay admitted the two turnovers that led to 14 points for the Lancers were key to the outcome of the contest.
“The big one was where they stripped the ball from us,” Livesay said. “It was a big momentum changer. If we don’t lose the ball on that play and go down and score, it would have put us in good position to win the game.”
Francis Parker, which upset top-seeded Vincent Memorial in the preceding semifinals, scored first in the game to take a 7-0 lead on a seven-yard touchdown run by Brokowski with 1:31 remaining in the first quarter.
The Lancers threatened to double the score when Williams broke loose for an apparent 40-yard touchdown run with 3:00 left in the second quarter but the play was called back due to a penalty.
Romero made a catch at the Parker 12-yard line with 25 seconds left in the first half to set up Hernandez for a rushing touchdown with 15 seconds to play.
The successful extra-point conversion tied the game, 7-7, at halftime.
Hernandez opened scoring in the second half on a 64-yard touchdown run with 9:25 to play in the third quarter to put the Trojans up by seven points.
But Castle Park could not get the insurance touchdown they needed to create additional separation between the teams.
Williams, the Lancers’ impact freshman from South County, finished the game with eight tackles, including six unassisted tackles, one caused fumble, one fumble recovery and two kickoff returns for 56 yards.
He also completed a halfback pass for 28 yards to Carrillo.
“On that play (the momentum-changing fumble recovery) I felt I had not been tackling well lately and wanted to make a play for my team,” he said. “I seized the moment. It was huge. That stopped their momentum. As soon as we got that interception (by Carrillo), I knew we were going to win.”
Francis Parker head coach Matt Morrison called last Friday’s championship game victory a “dream come true.”
“I’ve been part of Francis Parker football since I was 10 when my dad was the coach,” Morrison said. “We were here last year and came up short. It was heartbreaking with the team we had.
“We didn’t know if we’d ever be back. I’m proud of my kids. We started the season 1-5 and never gave up.”
The Lancers finished the season with seven consecutive wins, including a 4-0 mark en route to claiming the Pacific League championship and a 3-0 mark in the section playoffs.
Parker advances to the state playoffs and will host Gardena (10-4) in a Division 7-AA regional playoff game this Friday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m.
The winner plays either San Francisco Lincoln (10-1) or Mariposa County (8-4) in the state bowl championship game.
The Lancers collected 287 total offensive yards in the rain against the Trojans, compiling 158 rushing yards and 101 passing yards.
White led Parker on the ground with 47 yards on eight carries while Alota gained 39 yards on eight carries. White had two catches for 87 yards.
Russell Childs and Sam Camposeco, both seniors, led Parker defensively with 11 tackles each.
Camposeco rushed 13 times for 36 yards while Brokowski had seven carries for 36 yards.
Brokowski leads the Lancers with 734 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns in 13 games. Camposeco ranks second on the team with 10 touchdowns.
Hernandez finished last Friday’s game with 202 rushing yards on 21 carries with three touchdowns to elevate his touchdown count to 26 on the season.
SAN DIEGO SECTION FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
OPEN DIVISION
(1) Helix 28, (3) Carlsbad 21
Division I
(9) Oceanside 28, (2) Lincoln 10
Division II
(7) El Camino 75, (1) Bishop’s 59
Division III
(3) La Jolla 17, (1) Scripps Ranch 0
Division IV
(2) Serra 37, (1) Santana 7
Division V
(4) Francis Parker 24, (2) Castle Park 21
Division VI (8-Man)
(1) Foothills Christian 62, (2) Sam Diego Jewish Academy 0
