SCCS football falls just short of league title

Share on facebook
Share
Share on twitter
Tweet
Share on email
Email

Santa Clarita Christian and Saddleback Valley Christian played lights out in the battle for the San Joaquin League title on Thursday night.

Literally.

With 9:29 left in the third quarter, the field at College of the Canyons went dark and play was delayed for 20 minutes.

When the power came back, SCCS took the lead in the fourth quarter before a late touchdown and two-point conversion sealed a 28-27 win for the Warriors, their sixth straight win over the Cardinals.

“I feel our guys did a great job to give us a chance,” said SCCS coach Garrick Moss.  “I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

A 34-yard touchdown pass from Cardinals quarterback Tristan Miller to Tyler Kalinske and a defensive stand on fourth down at SCCS’s 17-yard line were followed by a 10-play drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run from Jacob Moss.

The scoring plunge put Santa Clarita Christian up 27-20 early in the fourth quarter.

But Saddleback quarterback Cade Henjum rushed for 10 yards and passed for 50 on the next drive, as the Warriors found the end zone on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Henjum to Jackson Greene. Henjum’s two-point conversion run set the final score at the 6:03 mark.

The Cardinals allowed Henjum a 20-yard touchdown run and a 27-yard scoring pass in the first quarter. But they trailed only 20-14 after Miller found Seth Yu on a 10-yard touchdown in the final seconds of the first half.

Miller finished the game 16-of-24 for 231 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Moss carried the ball 10 times for 82 yards, while Yu rushed 12 times for 63 yards.

Kalinske had two receiving TDs.

Santa Clarita Christian ends the regular season with a 5-5 overall record after starting 0-4, and finish with a 4-1 record in the San Joaquin League, good for second place and an opportunity to receive a playoff berth in Division 13.

Their league is “guaranteed” three playoff spots. But under the CIF’s new power-ranking-based playoff system, some divisions – likely D13 with its 80-plus teams – will have more guaranteed teams than the 16-team playoff bracket allows.

In that case, all the first-place teams are placed in the bracket, then the second-place teams, then third and so on.

 

 

 

Related To This Story

Latest NEWS