LINCOLN – There was no trophy presentation for Wilcox on Saturday evening.
Whereas ready on the sideline at Twelve Bridges Excessive Faculty for the ceremony to start, Chargers coach Paul Rosa ran out of endurance.
Barely minutes after a controversial penalty helped value his crew a spot in subsequent week’s CIF state Division 2-A championship recreation, Rosa advised his distraught gamers to stroll off the sphere.
“Ridiculous,” Rosa mentioned of the ultimate sequence within the NorCal regional tilt. “Never seen it in my life.”
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Twelve Bridges, in the meantime, gathered subsequent to the north finish zone in euphoria to have fun a 28-27 victory that just about slipped out of its grasp.
In any case, Wilcox (11-3) appeared poised to interrupt the hearts of its host as time ticked off the scoreboard.
However because the Chargers lined as much as kick a possible game-winning 41-yard area aim, one referee moved the ball – which was improperly marked after an incomplete move with 7 seconds left – again to the road of scrimmage.
The play clock was by no means reset and the referee beneath the aim submit tossed a flag signaling delay of recreation.
A 3rd referee walked towards midfield from the Wilcox sideline because the zebras huddled.
After the all of the commotion, the Chargers had been penalized 5 yards.
“It should’ve been reset,” Rosa mentioned of the play clock. “We had been able to kick to and so they simply don’t give us time. And that’s not the one name that was like that. … However that was dangerous. After which we miss the kick by 3 yards?
“It was a joke.”
Twelve Bridges, which remained unbeaten at 14-0 in solely its third full varsity marketing campaign, was eradicated from the playoffs the earlier two years in excruciating style on late two-point conversions.
The Raging Rhinos regained the lead of this see-saw affair with 5:03 left within the fourth quarter on Braeden Ward’s third landing run of the evening. Ward piled up 199 speeding yards on 26 carries, whereas quarterback Connor Flaherty completed 10 of 15 for 185 yards, together with a 79-yard bomb to Isaiah Rodriguez within the second quarter.
However the ensuing two-point strive failed and Wilcox launched into a 14-play drive that ate up practically the remainder of the clock.
Chargers kicker Armando Rodriguez, who booted a 46-yard area aim with 2 seconds left within the first half to chop the deficit to 15-13 at intermission, practically duplicated the feat on the finish of regulation.
However this was no case of déjà vu.
“I just wanted to throw up,” Twelve Bridges coach Chris Bean mentioned as he ready to observe the kick land agonizingly wanting the crossbar. “You always watch the kicker in pre-game and you go, ‘If it comes down to a kick, we’re in trouble.’ And, obviously, thankful for an extra 5 yards on his kick.”
He added: “But I understand their situation. I would feel the same way if I were them, for sure.”
It was a recreation stuffed with flags.
A facemask penalty that nullified a sack and fumble restoration by the Rhinos halfway via the second quarter.
A chop block that nullified a 34-yard landing by Wilcox sophomore Elijah Vallejo, who nonetheless managed 122 yards on 20 carries.
His teammate Braden Rosa, the coach’s youngest son, led the way in which with 26 carries for a game-high 208 yards – to not point out a 53-yard completion to tight finish Davion Coleman.
“I’ve been through it for four years and I don’t think we deserved the way that we lost,” mentioned Braden, who accounted for his crew’s three touchdowns, together with an 81-yard burst on the crew’s first snap of the second half after falling behind 22-13. “We lost by inches and it just shows the grit and the toughness of this team.”
His father, who led the Chargers to NorCal titles in 2018 and 2021, couldn’t agree extra.
“I told them it was the most proud I’ve ever been of a team,” Paul Rosa mentioned. “They overachieved big time. They reached their potential – and then some.”
He added: “We’ll reflect back and we’ll look back on this season as an awesome experience. Bottom line is you just get to play in a lot of big games, and that’s what’s fun about it, right? You compete at the highest level and they did that.”
