Knights top Dons: Hillsdale beats Aragon for the first time since 1991

In a game that went into overtime, it was Eli Kertel’s extra point that was the difference in the Knights’ 14-13 victory.

“It’s honestly unbelievable,” said Hillsdale’s Ro Mahanty, who scored both Knights’ touchdowns — one just before halftime and again in overtime. “Eli pulled through.”

Mahanty was an unlikely hero for the Knights. Although he has been a standout defensive back this season, his touches on offense have been limited this season. But Friday night, he goes into the annals of Hillsdale lore. He carried the ball just twice for 29 yards and he caught two passes for 52 yards. None bigger than his 45-yard catch and run for a touchdown on a seam route from quarterback Brett Wetteland.

“I’ve been in and out on offense (this season). I’ve made some plays,” Mahanty said. “I told them I wanted the ball (Friday).”

Parodi said he had a hard time finding spots on offense to put Mahanty into games this season. But when he needed the senior the most, he came through.

He’s been our defensive stalwart and we had other guys who were missing,” Parodi said. “Ro stepped up.”

Hillsdale led 7-0 at halftime, but Aragon tied the score on its first possession of the second half. There were some frantic final minutes before the teams settled for overtime.

Aragon got the ball first and, starting from the 10-yard line, needed three plays to get into the end zone when quarterback Billy Mason raced around the right end and into the end zone from 4 yards out.

The Dons, however, missed the extra point, opening the door for Hillsdale’s first win over the Dons since George H.W. Bush was in the White House — that would be the elder Bush, Ronald Reagan’s former vice president.

Hillsdale’s offense then took the field. Starting from the 10, Mahanty took a handoff and gained 8 yards. He got the ball on the next play as well — on a fly sweep no less — and bulled his way into the end zone.

Mahanty didn’t know if the rest of his teammates felt the way he did, but he was not going to celebrate until that extra point sailed safely through the uprights.

“We still had one more play to make,” Mahanty said.

Kertel did his job, giving the Knights the win and setting off pandemonium as Hillsdale fans stormed the field in celebration.

“Tough game. They’re good. I’m not surprised it went OT. I fully expected this to be an onside kick game or overtime game,” said Aragon coach Steve Sell. “We made some critical mistakes at critical times.”

The biggest mistake the Dons made was getting flagged for holding late in the fourth quarter, negating a Mason 10-yard touchdown run with under two minutes to play.

“That was a big penalty,” Sell said.

After the Knights’ defense stopped Aragon at 14, they looked poised to win the game in regulation. On first down, they executed a perfect double reverse, with Tyler Gonzales gaining 41 yards on the play to the Dons’ 45. Two plays later, however, Aragon’s Chad Franquez intercepted a pass to force overtime.

Defense ruled the first half as neither team could muster much offensively over the first two quarters. Twice in the first half, Aragon drove deep into Hillsdale territory, only to come away empty.

Hillsdale did not have that much success until its final drive of the first half. Starting at their own 28, the Knights drove 72 yards on seven plays. They converted a fourth-and-4 from the Aragon 45, with Wetteland hooking up with Gonzales for a 10-yard gain.

The Knights appeared to shoot themselves in the foot when they were called for a holding penalty that pushed them back to the Dons’ 45, but on the next play, Wetteland found Mahanty in the seam over the middle. Mahanty caught the 15-yard pass, turned on the jets and ran away from the Aragon defense for a 45-yard score and a 7-0 lead at halftime.

After Hillsdale failed to convert a 26-yard field goal on the first drive of the third quarter, the Dons finally capitalized. Going almost exclusively to their ground attack, the Dons methodically drove 80 yards on 12 plays, taking more than five-and-a-half minutes off the clock. V.A. Wilson, who rushed for a game-high 125 yards on 24 carries, bulled his way into the end zone from 11 yards out to tie the score at 7.

Again, the Dons had their chances. They looked to be headed toward the go-ahead touchdown, but fumbled the ball away at the Hillsdale 13-yard line with 6:51 to play.

The Aragon defense stood tall and forced Hillsdale to punt, taking over at the Knights’ 35-yard line with five minutes to play. The holding penalty on Mason’s apparent touchdown thwarted another Aragon scoring drive.

“If you don’t cash in on your opportunities, you’re not going to win this game,” Sell said.

How evenly matched was this game? Hillsdale generated 295 yards of total offense. Aragon, 290.

“Our defense has been phenomenal all year. Our defense is second to none,” Parodi said. “I would take our defense against most teams right now.”

Wetteland completed 13 of 25 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown, while Gonzales caught five passes for 50 yards and added a 41-yard run for 91 yards of total offense.

Kono Filikitonga-Egan caught five passes for 66 yards to lead Aragon’s aerial attack, but of the Dons’ 290 yards of offense, 205 came on the ground.

“I’m not going to remember this (Aragon) group for losing the streak. I’m going to remember it as the team that went 9-1 and won the Ocean Division title,” Sell said. “It was a matter of time (before Hillsdale beat us).”