Gilroy fought back from a two-touchdown hole to take the lead late in the third quarter 20-14, but Soledad’s running back Emanuel Ortega was too evasive for the Mustang defense as he led the Aztecs to a 27-26 victory.
“It took us a whole quarter to adjust to their speed. They came out pounding the ball and we weren’t adjusting in the beginning,” Gilroy coach Juvenal Rodriguez said.
In the second half before the Mustangs took the lead, Ortega had 13 yards on four carries. That changed radically after Soledad was on the wrong side of the scoreboard for the first time. He carried the ball 13 times for 74 yards setting up his teammates to finish the drives. Soledad would score on a two-yard rush by Miguel Gonzalez to retake the lead by one point early in the fourth quarter and the quarterback Robbie Santa Ana finished the next offensive drive with an eight-yard run to put the Aztecs 27-20. Soledad missed its extra point kick giving the Mustangs a chance to at least tie the game with a touchdown and extra point conversion.
The Mustangs answered with Jon Castro’s 32-yard pass to Barnes who broke two tackles to get into the end zone and get Gilroy within one point. The Mustangs decided to go for the lead, but failed the 2-point conversion.
Soledad relied on Ortega to keep the clock and chains moving until they faced a third-and-2 with less than two minutes left in the game. They surprised the Mustang defense by giving the ball to Derek Cabeca who broke four tackles on his 35-yard run to Gilroy’s 6-yard line and giving the Aztecs the ticket to the championship game.
“I knew it was going to be a tough, running, physical-style game,” coach Rodriguez said. “We just didn’t come out on top.”
Both running backs had their team on their backs. Ortega lead the Aztecs with 180 rushed yards in 27 carries while Joseph Barnes had 19 carries for 93 yards.
Gilroy went toe-to-toe with the Aztecs but the failed extra points proved to be the difference. The Mustangs missed an extra point kick and two 2-point conversions while converting on one 2-point conversion.
“It’s just tough when you leave points out there, but we put our offense out there because we thought that gave us the best opportunity to put the points up,” coach Rodriguez said.
Despite the early touchdowns given up by the Mustang defense, they limited the big plays. They allowed four plays of 20 yards or more. Gilroy had seven plays that they broke for more than 20 yards including a touchdown pass in which Castro found Christian Rodriguez for a 61-yard play to take the first lead.
Castro threw for 190 yards with two touchdowns in 14 attempts with an interception and Rodriguez had another touchdown on a one yard run.
Gilroy had created some momentum after scoring their second touchdown and forcing Soledad to turn the ball over on downs on the ensuing drive, with 26.4 seconds left in the first half Gilroy fumbled on their own 41-yard line, but the Aztecs couldn’t capitalize largely in part to a great defensive play by Eddie Vargas Jr. who deflected a pass intended for Angel Olivas inside the 20-yard line. The Aztecs ran two more plays, but ran out of time as they headed into halftime with 14-12 lead.
“In the beginning I think we were a bit nervous. We’re still a young team and came out a little soft and they punched us in the mouth,” Barnes said. “Second quarter we came back and punched them back and scored two touchdowns.”
In the third quarter, the Mustangs forced Soledad to punt on their two possessions, but they also had offensive problems to start the second half. Gilroy was also forced to punt and was intercepted in the end zone on a fourth-and-10 play.
“I’m proud of these boys. It was a hell of a season. They accomplished way more than what people expected,” coach Rodriguez said.
