Half Moon Bay tops Burlingame in overtime

Moffitt took the snap and paused a beat before he started probing the line for openings.

Nothing up the middle. He bounced it outside. Finally, he made one last push for the goal line. The Burlingame defense converged. The whistle blew.

Burlingame players started celebrating.

Then, it was Half Moon Bay celebrating as the side referee came running in, hands thrust in the air simulating the run scored.

Half Moon Bay 42, Burlingame 41 in Burlingame Friday night.

So, was Moffitt in? Depends on who you ask.

“I was in,” Moffitt said. “When I found out I was getting the ball, I said, ‘There’s no way I’m going to get stopped.’”

Burlingame did a good enough job, however, that there was some doubt on the Burlingame sideline.

“My kids were saying he was short,” Burlingame head coach John Philipopoulos said. “It was a tough one. It was right there. [The call] could have gone either way.”

Said HMB head coach Keith Holden: “I had a bad view. I know it didn’t look good.”

In the end, it capped a football game that saw Half Moon Bay (2-1 PAL Bay, 3-4 overall) continue its second-half resurgence, while Burlingame (3-1, 7-1) was dealt its first loss of the season.

That the game was decided by Moffitt’s determination was nothing new for the Cougars’ four-year varsity player. He helped guide HMB to nearly 400 yards of offense. Moffitt completed 6-of-8 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 35 yards and a third touchdown.

“Our quarterback knows how to compete,” Holden said.

Moffitt’s ankle injury prevented Holden from using the triple option more than the Cougars did Friday night. That meant more carries for an equally banged up Quinn McCauley. All the burly back did was rush for a game-high 131 yards and scored two touchdowns on 18 carries.

The fact the game was decided on a 2-point conversion in overtime was surprising, considering the Panthers were in prime position to win in regulation. After forcing a HMB punt from its own end zone, the Panthers took over the Cougars’ 33-yard line with 2:40 left in the fourth quarter.

Burlingame moved the ball down to the 3-yard line and called timeout with nine seconds left.

With one of the best field goal kickers in the Peninsula Athletic League in Ryan Kall, facing little more than extra-point distance, it seemed Kall would get his number called.

Instead, the Panthers ran a play, with a pitch to junior running back Lukas Habelt that was stuffed as time expired.

“In all reality, I probably out-thought myself,” Philipopoulos said.

Kall had missed a field goal earlier in the game, but it was a pair of blocked extra-points that concerned Philipopoulos.

It was one of several big plays and decisions that impacted the game throughout. HMB took the opening drive and marched down the field for the first score when Moffitt hooked up with McCauley for an 18-yard scoring pass.

Burlingame came right back, capping a quick, four-play drive with a Kall-to-Uhrich 17-yard scoring strike.

Kall had another big game under center, completing 12-of-16 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns. Uhrich was the main recipient, finishing with seven catches for 111 yards and two scores.

“[Uhrich] is an impact player,” Philipopoulos said. “The heart and soul of our team.”

HMB retook the lead on the second play of the second quarter. After Moffitt snagged an interception at his own 1-yard line and returned it to midfield, Holden and his coaching staff went into their bag of tricks, using a double pass to score a 58-yard touchdown when Liam Harrington found a wide-open Jack Furr.

Burlingame responded by scoring a pair of touchdowns before halftime. Kall and Uhrich hooked up again, with Uhrich laying full out to make a diving catch in the end zone for a 27-yard strike and when Habelt blasted into the end zone from 37 yards out, Burlingame held a 20-14 lead at halftime.

The Panthers got the ball back to start the second half and immediately pushed their lead the 26-14, with Habelt scoring from 2 yards out.

Habelt finished with 103 yards rushing and three scores on 21 carries.

With Burlingame threatening to put the game away, HMB answered back, going 80 yards on eight plays. The key play was a 46-yard rumble from McCauley and it was capped by a Moffitt 3-yard run.

When Moffitt connected with J.P. Modena for a 48-yard touchdown pass, the Cougars regained the lead, 27-26, following a Julian Jimenez extra-point.

After recovering a Burlingame fumble, the Cougars extended their lead as Moffitt scored his second touchdown on the ground as HMB moved out to a 34-26 advantage.

Just when it appeared the Panthers were done, they came roaring back. After a 31-yard kickoff return from Charlie Koch, the Panthers needed six plays to find paydirt, with Habelt going in from 3 yards out with 4:52 remaining in regulation.

Needing a 2-point conversion, Kall picked up a bad snap, scrambled right before turning it up and bolting into the end zone to tie the game and set up the game’s final dramatic minutes.

“What do you do? They made a play when they needed to,” Philipopoulos said. “We played well. They played well. We had an opportunity to pull away. They came back.

“It’s a heartbreaker.”