There was no time left on the clock. South Gate trailed by one point with the ball at Marquez's 39-yard line.
Defenseman Michael Gonzalez said there was only one play to call – “everybody goes deep.”
Incredibly, it worked. He tossed the ball to his receivers to try to catch it in the end zone, and Nicholas Fonseca threw the game-winning touchdown for a 63-58 victory over Marquez in Saturday's City Section Division I championship game at Southwestern College.
The southern gate is the same team that lost in the City Division II final last season in another wild ending in which the Rams came back with one second left, then failed an onside kick and lost to Chatsworth on a 32-yard field goal on the final play.
Gonzalez said all week that coaches are preaching lessons learned from last season.
“Don’t stop, no matter what, until the scoreboard reads zero and the sign is in our hands,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez, a junior, finished the game with a career-high 450 yards passing and six touchdowns.
And the memorial plaque is in his hands.
“I believed in my players,” he said.
It was a fun bus ride home with cars parked nearby and honking.
South Gate (11-3) will open the regional state playoffs with a home game Saturday at 6 p.m. against Bishop Union.
This is a daily look at positive developments in school sports. To report any news, email [email protected].
