With a 2nd half comeback, varsity football defeated Las Lomas 38-28 to secure a Homecoming victory on Friday, October 17.
The Cougars had a rough start, allowing a 60 yard run by Las Lomas’ offense on its opening drive. The score came with 8 minutes left in the first quarter.
After the touchdown, Las Lomas recovered an onside kick and quickly scored again, pushing the Cougar’s deficit to 14. Campolindo managed to score on their next offensive possession, gaining back 7 points.
However, the Knights quickly countered when Senior quarterback Jack Stephens threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown. The Cougars were down 7-21.
Campolindo scored a rushing touchdown with 4:44 left in the first half to make it 28-14. After a defensive stop, Tyler Petite caught a touchdown pass with 2:03 on the clock to make the score 28-21. Petite finished the game with 4 receptions for 92 yards.
With 5 seconds left in the 1st half, Las Lomas missed a field goal attempt.
Head coach Kevin Macy attributed some of his team’s struggles to mistakes and the extra pressure of Homecoming, but praised its effort to get back into the game. “I think the one thing for us is our kids had played long games and battled big teams all year, so that allowed us to fight our way back in,” he said.
Junior defensive lineman and tight end Sterling Strother added that, “Just believing and playing the way [they] knew how to play,” was also vital.
Senior linebacker Jack Shurtz said, “A lot of guys made some pretty crazy speeches to get people’s heads in the right place, and we came out with the resiliency that I think only our team could come out with,” he said.
Shurtz picked off Las Lomas’ quarterback Ben Wood and ran it 65 yards for a touchdown to tie the game, with 2:10 remaining in the 3rd quarter.
“You don’t really think about it during plays like that,” he said. “But once you get to the sideline and hear the cheer of the crowd, it’s pretty intense, and it was really cool to go out and make a play for my teammates.”
Senior running back Nick Fadelli ran 22 yards for the go-ahead score with 11:10 left in the forth quarter.
In the 4th quarter, the Campolindo defense stopped the Knights on two key forth down attempts.
Matt Blair’s field goal put the game out of reach.
The Cougars scored 31 unanswered points.
Macy praised Las Lomas. “They’re an impressive team. They’re huge and physical. They had an extra week to prepare, because of the bye and it showed,” he said.
Las Lomas head coach Mike Downing said that in spite of the loss, his team showed heart. “It stings real bad. Campo’s obviously one of the best teams around, but our guys fought hard down to the bitter end,” he said.
Macy added, “To come back and win with a big crowd is huge. The student body has just been incredible this year, so to pull this one out on Homecoming was great.”
