Sacred Heart Prep wins sixth Central Coast Section football title

“It’s hard to lose seven games in the regular season and still have confidence,” said SHP head Mark Grieb. “I just think it’s remarkable.”

Making the Gators’ ascension to CCS champ even more improbable was the fact after opening the season with a win, they lost four straight by a combined 17 points.

But the Gators stayed the course and having fought through that kind of adversity helped prepare them for the problems Homestead presented: namely, an offense that pushed the tempo and a running game that picked up yardage in huge chunks.

After SHP (6-7) received the opening kickoff and took nearly nine minutes off the clock as the Gators drove from their own 35 to the Mustangs’ 3 before settling for a 20-yard Sean Tinsley field goal, Homestead (7-6) needed just six plays to respond. The Mustangs had runs of 31, 15 and 17 yards on the 73-yard drive. And after watching SHP use more than eight minutes on their scoring drive, Homestead needed less than two minutes to take a 7-3 lead and set the tone for a back-and-forth, offensive fireworks show.

“[Homestead] put up quite the fight. They were really efficient offensively,” Grieb said.

Despite watching Homestead strike with lightning quickness, Grieb knew his team was ready to play.

“[Our] first drive really set the tone for us offensively,” Grieb said.

So there was some head scratching when SHP came out for its second drive and after picking up an initial first down were forced to punt after throwing a pair of incomplete passes.

But then the Gators’ special teams and defense stepped up. First, SHP pinned the Mustangs back on their own 8-yard line following a 41-yard punt and John Adrian Dioli making the tackle. Three plays later, SHP sophomore linebacker Anthony Noto dropped Homestead running back Derek Sheerer for a four-yard loss, stripping the ball in the process, with Mat Bucher recovering at the Mustangs’ 2.

It was one of three Homestead turnovers that results in SHP scores.

Two plays later, Andrew Latu pounded into the end zone for a 10-6 SHP lead.

That was the first of five straight touchdowns to end the half.

Homestead regained the lead, 12-10, following six-play, 70-yard drive, but the Gators came right back with a 65-yard drive of their own. Luis Mendoza capped the play with a 17-yard scamper in which he looked stopped at the line of scrimmage, only to escape down the left sideline to give the Gators a 16-12 lead.

Back came the Mustangs as they completed their only pass of the first half — a 46-yard score from quarterback Charlie Castaneda to Sheerer to go up 20-16 with 1:17 left in the first half.

SHP, however, was not content to sit on the ball. The Gators went on the attack. Quarterback Jack Herrell hooked up with Zach Friere for an 18-yard gain. Facing a third-and-7, Herrell threw to the left sideline into double coverage where Jake York split the defense to come up with the catch for a 33-yard gain to the Homestead 11.

Three plays later, Herrell and Friere hooked up again, this time for a 3-yard touchdown and 22-20 lead with eight seconds left in the second quarter.

“The turning point was the end of the first half. We just marched right down the field,” Grieb said. “It was an even ball game at that point.”

The Gators carried that moment into the third quarter. Homestead took the second-half kickoff and for the first time all game, the SHP defense got a stop, forcing the Mustangs into their first punt of the game.

York’s 46-yard return to the Homestead 11 gave SHP prime field position and the Gators took advantage with Mendoza going into the end from 2 yards out to put SHP up 29-20 less than three minutes into the second half.

The SHP defense then came up with another defensive stand on Homestead’s ensuing drive, stopping the Mustangs on downs at the Gators’ 13.

SHP went to the double pass on the first play of the drive, with Friere finding Luke Maxwell for a 47-yard gain. Eight plays later, the Gators were in the end zone again, with Latu bulling in from the 1 to give SHP a 37-20 advantage on the first play of the fourth quarter.

‘The second half, the defense showed up,” Grieb said.

Homestead, however, had one last gasp. The Mustangs drove 57 yards on eight plays for a score to cut the SHP lead to 37-26 and then forced the Gators into their only punt of the second half.

But that’s when the SHP defense shut the door and sealed the Gators’ first CCS title since 2015. First, Aseli Fangupo stripped the Homestead ball carrier and returned the fumble to the Mustangs’ 19. Mendoza would eventually score from 20 yards out to put the Gators’ up 42-28.

Luke De Grosz then put the icing on the cake for SHP as the senior linebacker snatched a Homestead pass and went 39 yards the other way for a pick-6 and the final score of game with 3:29 to play.

Next up for the Gators is a date in a Northern California bowl game with a chance to play in a state championship in two weeks.

Next week will also offer the Gators the opportunity to even their record at .500. And for those who question whether a 3-7 team should have been in the playoffs?

“Then change the system,” Grieb said.