Half Moon Bay Cougars come up short in triple-OT

HMB (1-1, 4-2) committed three turnovers on the night, including a critical fumble midway through the fourth quarter. The Cougars took a 14-0 lead into the half thanks to a 19-yard TD pass from Paxton Holden to Will Wimsett in the first quarter, and a 9-yard scoring run from junior Luke Pimentel in the second. The Trojans cut the lead in half in the third quarter on an 11-yard scoring pass from junior Jonah Mati to junior receiver Jelani North.

Then came the wild finish. The HMB defense came up with a big fourth-down stop at its own 3-yard-line when cornerback Auggie Lujan broke up a Mati pass at the goal line with 5:42 to go in the fourth quarter. But, after moving the ball to the 14, the Cougars fumbled and Milpitas nose tackle Gustavo Galindo recovered. But the HMB defense held again, defending a pass on fourth-and-13 to force a turnover on downs with 3:30 left in regulation.

The Cougars were forced to punt, and Holden connected for a booming kick to the Milpitas 37 with 2:12 on the clock. But the Trojans stormed down the field with a 26-yard reception by North, a 15-yard catch by senior Deuce Gittens, and a 12-yard scramble by Mati to the 4-yard line. That set up a short scoring strike from Mati to North, with Miramontes tying it on an extra-point kick with 39.7 seconds remaining in the fourth.

With overtime rules placing the ball at the defense’s 10-yard line and giving the offense four downs to score, HMB struck first in OT on a 12-yard pass from from Holden to Wimsett at the front pylon. Two plays later, HMB nearly ended it when a Mati pass into the end zone was deflected into the air and glanced off the fingertips of senior cornerback Bryce Gorath. Two plays later, Milpitas converted on fourth down as Mati first an 11-yard fastball to Mati in for the score.

The Trojans took their first lead of the game in the second overtime on a 1-yard QB sneak by senior Elisha Pena. The Cougars equalized on third-and-goal with a 4-yard run by Holden. But when HMB failed to score in the final round by missing a 26-yard field goal wide right, Miramontes cashed in with the game-winner, booting a 27-yard field goal from the left hash mark.