Battling to the end
Eagles proud of 14-1 season
In its last two wins, the Southwest High football team took fate into its own hands and came up with crucial plays that allowed the Eagles to still be playing at this point in the year.
Down by just four points and with a little over a minute left in the CIF State Div. 4-A game, the Eagles appeared on the cusp of turning in another miraculous finish, this time against Milpitas at Eagle Field here on Saturday night.
With the roar of a sold-out crowd behind them, Eagle quarterback Cameron Jungers launched a deep pass on fourth-and-nine that caught the breath of Eagle and Milpitas fans alike.
The play ended with a wave of screams when the home crowd saw an Eagle receiver come down with the ball along the visitors’ sideline.
The play appeared to give Southwest the necessary first down to continue a possible championship-game winning drive.
It was pure jubilation. Until it wasn’t. The officials along with the visiting Trojans could be seen waving their arms back and forth signaling an incomplete pass.
While it was later determined that the call on the field was an illegal formation against the offense, it forced a turnover on downs for the Eagles.
The play ultimately decided the game as the Trojans then ran out the clock to hold onto their 45-41 lead and claim the 4-A state title.
While the play did decide the game, Eagles head coach John Mitosinka refused to let it define the season for the Eagles, who broke school and Imperial Valley records alike this year.
“There is so much to be proud of,” Mitosinka said. “What these guys did this year… winning IVL, winning CIF… there’s plenty to be thankful for.”
Mitosinka noted the size and strength of the Trojans, who had just one loss on the season heading into the game.
Despite the Trojans’ 34-14 lead at the start of the second half, Mitosinka said he never lost faith in his players as they were in a similar situation last week and pushed for a win in the regional championships game.
“I thought, ‘Down three touchdowns? We can do it. We can comeback.’” he said. “If we could get a quick score then slip another one in …”
It ended up being exactly what the Eagles did. Jungers caught Derek Guzman on an 80-yard catch-and-run play that cut the score to 34-21 with the Sergio Ruiz PAT.
On the Trojans’ next possession, they fumbled the ball, which was picked up by Guzman, who ran it home 80 yards bringing the score to 3428 with 7:24 left in the third quarter.
Jungers’ pass to Guzman was one of five touchdown passes of the night for the three-year starter, who truly left it all on the field and easily played the best game in his high school career.
“Cameron helped us out tremendously,” Mitosinka said. “He threw the ball so well and those scrambles he had for all those yards were crucial. Our running game wasn’t working for us, but the pass was. He played great.”
In the fourth quarter, Jungers also caught Tyler Saikhon on a 19-yard pass and Grant Hansink on a 49-yard play, which gave the Eagles a brief 41-37 lead before the Trojans answered with a score and two-point conversion to go up 45-41.
Jungers also caught Saikhon on a 69-yard catch-and-run play and Ryan Silva on a 34-yard effort, both in the first quarter of the game.
Despite the Eagles’ comeback efforts being thwarted by questionable calls, as Mitosinka said, “14-1 is still a pretty damn good season.”