LA CRESCENTA — San Marino coach DJ Jones told his team earlier this week that football is difficult. His players quickly found that out against Crescenta Valley, trailing 14-3 at halftime. Jones then challenged his players to respond. They did, rallying in the fourth quarter for a thrilling 18-14 win Friday night in the program’s first-ever game in the new Boulder League.
San Marino (6-0, 1-0) has now doubled its win total from last season and suddenly has the inside track to the league championship along with South Pasadena.
“The players always tell me they want to be successful,” Jones said. “I told them (at halftime), ‘You’re now in a dogfight. Do you have the heart to finish this?’”
The Titans’ offense, defense and special teams all played key roles to help the team outscore the Falcons 15-0 in the final quarter.
It started with the defense holding Crescenta Valley to a 9-yard gain on a pass on a fourth-and-14. The Titans took over early in the fourth at their own 18.
San Marino quarterback Parker Wilson completed three straight passes. The first two went for a combined 25 yards to Marco Prassas. The third went to Perry Lin for a 9-yard gain. A facemask penalty then put the ball on the Falcon 33.
Wilson and running back Nathan Nielson took turns running the ball for the next six plays. Nielson then punched it into the end zone from 1 yard out. Wilson connected with Prassas in the back left corner of the end zone for a 2-point conversion, cutting Crescenta Valley’s lead to 14-11 with 9:11 remaining.
“We knew if we kept hammering and kept being confident with our stuff we’d get in there,” Wilson said. “The defense just gave us the hope and drive to finish that.”
Crescenta Valley faced a third-and-6 on its next drive at its 41 when Gunnar Herman took a handoff. He was stuffed behind the line of scrimmage by Adrian Solis for a 5-yard loss, forcing Crescenta Valley to punt.
However, the snap was over Seamus Carsey’s head. It was recovered at the Crescenta Valley 11 by Tiger Wang.
Two plays later, San Marino had a second-and-2 at the 3 when Nielson took a handoff and went straight up the middle for a touchdown to give San Marino an 18-14 lead with 4:28 left.
Nielson finished with 95 rushing yards on 19 carries.
“I knew I was getting in there,” Nielson said of his game-winning touchdown. “I trust my offensive line.”
Crescenta Valley, though, marched down the field quickly thanks to running back Phoenix Vengco. He carried the ball four straight times for 36 yards to put the ball at the San Marino 21 with less than two minutes remaining. Vengco finished with 136 rushing yards on 22 carries.
The game-saving play for San Marino came on a third-and-1. Ethan Ramirez took a handoff, but the ball was knocked out of his hands. Colin Wildeman quickly jumped on the ball for the recovery at the San Marino 22 with 59 seconds remaining. The Titans then ran out the clock to seal the comeback.
“I kind of just saw the ball and got off the block and the ball was rolling right there,” Wildeman said. “I picked it back up and held on and that was pretty much it. I’m just really excited.”
San Marino shut out Crescenta Valley in the second half by stopping its strong rushing attack. The Falcons amassed 130 rushing yards in the first half. However, San Marino held them to just 65 rushing yards in the second half and 112 total.
“We started slow,” Jones said. “It wasn’t so much bad play-calling. We just weren’t executing the way we were supposed to. We woke up, though, and decided to play football.”