It came down to eight plays inside the Vista 12 yard line. Eight chances for Oceanside to put six points on the board. The Pirates tried everything from power runs and slant passes to misdirection and finally, a trick play gone wrong.
The Panthers didn’t break. In doing so, the Panthers broke a four-year streak of county domination by Oceanside and claimed a win for the ages.
The #1 ranked Vista Panthers (4-0) twice stopped #4 Oceanside (2-2) on a fourth down situation inside their seven-yard line, forced five turnovers and four sacks, and still held on for dear life to beat the Pirates 27-21 at Dick Haines Stadium.
The 619 Preps Game of the Week lived up to its billing, with two of the top programs in the county trading body blows. Vista trailed 14-10 at halftime but scored two third-quarter touchdowns to take the lead. After building a 27-14 advantage, the Panthers withstood a relentless charge by Oceanside, including an onside kick recovered with 2:42 left in the fourth quarter.
“This is a game you’ll always have in your memories, but it’s not a game that defines our season,” head coach Dan Williams told his team after the game. The Panthers have higher hopes, primarily a return trip to Qualcomm Stadium.
A win over Oceanside is nothing to sneeze at, though. The Pirates hadn’t lost to a San Diego Section team since falling at Helix 28-20 on August 31st, 2007.
The Panthers’ offensive line overcame early struggles to open holes for senior tailback Shakeel Marshall, who rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns. 127 of his yards came in the second half, including 70 yards on Vista’s go-ahead 6 play, 80 yard touchdown drive to start the third quarter.
“In the first half, we weren’t sure what to expect,” said Marshall, “We made our adjustment in the locker room and we executed it.”
Postgame video interviews: Stefan McClure/Shakeel Marshall
The adjustment Oceanside needed to make was to screw the football in a bit more tightly. Returning from injury, senior tailback Noah Tarrant (15 carries, 75 yards, TD) lost fumbles on two of his first three touches, setting the tone for a night of Pirate giveaways.
Sophomore Pirates quarterback Tofi Pao Pao again showed off a cannon arm and tight spiral which will undoubtedly make him one of the top players in the county in coming years. He finished 13-for-29 for 219 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw an interception and lost a fumble.
Credit has to go to the Vista defense, which on three different occasions turned aside the Pirates inside their red zone without allowing any points. The first was a crucial defensive stop to end the second quarter. Leading 14-10 on a 16-yard touchdown run by Tarrant and Pao Pao’s 10-yard scoring target to Nate Small, the Pirates got the ball on their own 7 yard line with 4:12 remaining in the half.
Oceanside marched 81 yards in seven plays to the Vista 12 yard line and threatened to take an eleven point lead into the locker room. Instead, Panthers linemen Justin Ponce and Joey McFadden came up with back-to-back sacks to push the Pirates back to the 18. From there Jose Basurto’s 35 yard field goal try missed wide left with 24 seconds left before halftime.
Marshall’s 37 yard run out of a broken tackle highlighted the Panthers’ opening drive of the third quarter, which was capped by a five-yard touchdown pass from Vista quarterback Christian Gallardi to senior wideout Stefan McClure (5 receptions, 56 yards).
The Vista defense continued to pound away at Pao Pao, who showed great toughness for a sophomore hanging in the pocket despite heavy pressure all game. However, when linebacker John Palmer came free on a third quarter blitz and crushed Pao Pao, he fumbled and the Panthers recovered.
Vista quickly converted on Marshall’s second touchdown run of the game, a twelve yard scamper. His score was set up by heavy running from the Panthers’ bruising fullback McFadden, who added 56 yards on 11 carries on the night.
The game seemed to be slipping away from Oceanside. A Pao Pao sideline pass was intercepted by senior Vista linebacker Jeremiah Kose and converted into a Brandon Ivy 32 yard field goal for a 27-14 lead.
“I really didn’t like the way we played in the third quarter,” said Oceanside head coach John Carroll, “I thought the defense played poorly, and it took us giving up two touchdowns to make an adjustment. But in the fourth quarter we were a championship-level football team.”
The Pirates then held the ball for 11 plays to start the fourth quarter, driving all the way to the Vista 2 yard line. A crucial false start on second-and-goal from the 2 pushed Oceanside back five yards and forced them to pass. Pao Pao missed on three straight, overthrowing Demario Coleman (five catches, 122 yards, TD) on the last corner route.
The Pirates didn’t get the ball back until the 3:18 mark, but with a quarterback like Pao Pao, you’re never out of a game. Unloading a powerful arcing spiral down the right sideline, Pao Pao connected with Coleman on a gorgeous 53-yard fly pattern for a blitzkrieg score to change momentum.
Oceanside then went for the onside kick, which was booted right at Kose. The senior (who had earlier dropped two perfect passes over the middle as a tight end, each of which would have gone for huge yardage) saw the ball carom right off his hands and into the scrum, where the Pirates’ Kris Moore recovered.
Pao Pao hit senior receiver Matthew Rojas for a 21-yard gain and then found Coleman underneath for 22 more. Suddenly the Pirates were on the Vista 12, knocking on the door to take the lead and steal a win out of Dick Haines Stadium.
First, an incompletion. Then, senior receiver Anthony Mount got stopped for three yards on a sweep. On third and seven, Pao Pao scrambled and seemingly had an open corner of the end zone to run for, but he hesitated to look at the field and only wound up gaining four yards.
Fourth down and three from the Vista five yard line. The Pirates called timeout, then the Panthers, then the Pirates again. Finally, Oceanside lined up and surprised everyone by going for a wide receiver reverse option pass.
Everyone but Vista, that is. Linebacker TJ McWhite helped blow up the play and string the receiver Nate Small out to the sideline. Small retreated further and further back, all the way past the 25 yard line. Finally he let a pass go deep into the middle of the end zone, where McClure was waiting to haul it in and secure the win for the Panthers.
Vista’s McClure and Kose both insisted the Panthers were looking for the trick play and were ready for it. That led to an exasperated laugh from Oceanside coach John Carroll:
“It’s the first time we used it all year!” said Carroll, “We used it years ago…they must have remembered.”
These rivals have long memories.
The win was a relief for Kose, who would have been the goat if Oceanside could have scored.
“It was amazing,” said Kose, “Coach (Williams) emphasized how good they were, how they were going to run all over us and pass all over us, so it really got us fired up.”
Vista will hit the road now for back-to-back regional rivalry games against El Camino and Escondido. Oceanside will re-open renovated Simcox Field next week when they host Mission Hills.
