SPARTANS GO DOWN SWINGING
Spartans undefeated season grinds to halt in hard-fought CIF-SDS final
central’s angel nava-esparza (43) and Michael sullivan (12) try to lay hands on Morse’s shamar Martin (4) during saturday’s ciF-sDs Division iii championship game at southwestern college in chula Vista.
CHULA VISTA — The Central Union Spartans — the uncontested Imperial Valley League champs, winners of 12 straight and proud owners of a shiny brass ship’s bell — Saturday fell to the Morse Tigers 22-16 in the CIF-SDS Division III championship, tasting defeat for the first time in more than 365 days.
The game was played at Southwestern College’s DeVore Stadium in front of a throng that must have neared 9,000 strong, including 4,000-plus from the Valley decked head-totoe in a boisterous azul,
Initially, the contest appeared to be a horserace with only one jockey, but after Morse took an early two-possession lead, Central bounced back, and it became the consummate scrap — a gut-it-out affair (particularly in the second half) that saw defensive stands and elevated emotions on both sides.
What ultimately made the difference in the game was turnover margin. The beneficiary of fumble luck, the Tigers only had two live-ball turnovers to the Spartans’ four. Perhaps the swingiest play of the game was a 55-yard pick-six early in the second quarter that came immediately after Central had converted on a key fourth down.
The Tigers, for their part, came out determined to land haymakers.
Receiving the ball after the Spartans won the toss and elected to defer, Morse started out at their own 35-yard line and proceeded to do exactly what everyone knew they would … run the ball.
They did so 15 times, using Isiah Thompson and UCLA-bound Shamar Martin in a thunder-and-lightning style tandem — with both players taking direct snaps — to push the ball down the field and over the goal line to go up first 6 and then 8-0 after Jaycob Hicks spurted up the middle for two.
From the sideline, it looked like a statement drive, a “sure-you-knowwhat-we’re-gonna-do-butyou-can’t-stop-us” slap in the face, putting one over on the Spartans by sheer force of will.
It just goes to show that first impressions aren’t always the best ones.
The Spartans, who’ve counted run defense among their quiet strengths all season long, made their adjustments. They started recognizing the patterns of Morse’s play and swarmed the ball carrier, accordingly.
They never shut off the spigot completely, but when all was said and done, they only allowed two offensive touchdowns all day, only a couple runs of around 20 yards, and zero runs of the “wholedamn-field” variety — a significant accomplishment against a team as footloose as the Tigers.
If the offense could’ve adjusted as easily as the defense did it’s highly likely that Central could have walked off the field with something other than the runner-up trophy.
Instead they opened with a wobbly possession that saw them pick up one first down (on two Angel Nava-Esparza runs and a Morse penalty) before being forced to punt as Morse generated excellent pressure on quarterback Deniro Osuna, resulting in a Hicks sack and in Central being unable to make up the distance.
Pressure on Osuna would be a constant theme throughout the game, leading to some of Central’s biggest missed opportunities.
Attempting to avoid another sack on the Spartans’ next possession (following a Morse three-and-out) Osuna carrying the ball away from his body, would instead be stripped, with the ball bouncing neatly into the arms of Morse defensive back Michael Wright.
Then, on the heels of another Tiger punt, came the aforementioned pick-six to linebacker Devin Brown, which also came courtesy of an aggressive pass rush and gave Morse a daunting 16-0 lead.
In a similar position, a lot of teams might have gotten stuck in mental quicksand, lost in negative thoughts.
Not the Spartans. Clearly this wasn’t how they wanted things to go, but they didn’t come all the way to Chula Vista to bow out without punching back.
After setting up shop about the 20-yard line, the Spartans gobbled up 70 yards on one play as Osuna found running back Jonathan Medina open on a wheel route and he sprinted down to the Morse 10. Then after a few red-zone scuffles, Osuna found Thadeo Campbell over the middle on fourth down, right at the goal line, to put Central on the board 16-6 (a two-point conversion attempt failed).
Sixteen to 6 quickly became 16-14 after Nava-Esparza recovered a Morse fumble and Osuna found Campbell over the middle again, this time for 40 yards and a score (plus a made two-point conversion).
That would be the score at the half. Morse marched the length of the field in response but a goal line stand saw Central hold fast as the Tigers — in a move that recalled the Seahawks in Super Bowl 49 — opted to try throwing it in, despite having had no passing TDs all year.
Set to receive the ball to start the third quarter, the Spartans seemed to have plenty of room for cautious optimism.
Unfortunately for them, their opening drive ended in another pressure pick — followed by the Tigers last score as they took advantage of the short field to go up 22-14 (conversion failed) — and the one after that saw a third interception, as Osuna tried to force it down the sideline to a blanketed Tyrese Marsh.
This wasn’t entirely catastrophic, as it pinned the Tigers deep in their own territory and led to the Spartans getting two points on a Joseph Tarango safety, but those two points would be Central’s last.
Once the Tigers got the ball back, they drained the clock nearly dry, and while they couldn’t completely freeze the Spartans out of the game they were able to put the clamps on Central’s last desperation drive to walk away champs.
The scene on the Spartan sideline after the clock struck zero was one of quiet devastation, every face full of delicate anguish.
They accepted their silver medals with good grace, but it was obvious the loss hit hard.
After the game, an emotional coach David Peña, praised the defensive effort the team game crediting a “defensive staff (which) did a tremendous job with the game plan” and the kids who did a good job of negating Morse’s excellent “team speed” by “keeping them in front of us.”
Though the moment was a somber one, he agreed the team has “a tremendous amount to be proud of.”
Indeed, no one can say it was anything other than a beautiful ride. The Spartans’ season-long accomplishments speak for themselves and put this team into truly rarefied air within the context of recent iterations of Big Blue.
“This team represents the community and its character … the resilience. … We fought hard all year for everything we got,” Peña said. “We love El Centro.”
The season, in fact, may not be over. It is possible Central could get another game. Last year, Milpitas High made it into the state bracket despite stumbling its sectional final — going on to beat Southwest in the state final — but that distant (and subjectively decided upon) hypothetical doesn’t take the sting out of Saturday’s result.