Bakersfield survives scare from San Luis Obispo-Mission Prep, advances with 28-16 victory

For a moment, it looked like the Royals from San Luis Obispo-Mission Prep had made a miraculous play to keep their unbeaten season alive.

The Royals’ hot offense had gone cold at the worst possible time, trailing the Bakersfield Drillers by five with under two minutes remaining. Facing fourth-and-16 from his own 13, quarterback Colby White uncorked a deep pass into triple coverage for Tyler Garrett, who somehow snagged the ball around midfield and held on going to the ground.

But Mission Prep was called for holding. Fourth-and-24 was a bridge too far, and the Drillers scored one play later to seal the game at 28-16 and advance to the Central Section D-II semis.

“We knew it was gonna be tough from the very beginning,” BHS coach Rashaan Shehee said. “Mission Prep’s a very good team, and we knew they already knocked off Lemoore, so we knew they were going to come in ready to play.”

The BHS (5-5) offense was unsteady all game long, as key skill-position players like running backs Tybo Rogers and Drahcir Mackey missed parts of the game. The one near-constant was quarterback Tye Monteiro, who passed for 129 yards and a touchdown and ran for 83 and two more, with his lone miscue a second quarter interception.

“He’s been a fighter all season long for us,” Shehee said, “always figuring out a way to rally the troops.”

Mission Prep (10-1) used some trick plays and fourth-down stops to stay in the game, but didn’t feed halfback Isaiah Hernandez (four carries, 75 yards, two touchdowns) until the end of the third quarter.

The game began awkwardly for the Royals when they fumbled on their fourth play and Rogers returned it to the 15, setting up a quick touchdown from Monteiro on a sneak.

But Mission Prep held BHS scoreless for the rest of the half. Monteiro telegraphed his read on a rollout left early in the second quarter and was picked by Caden Elmerick. And on the next drive, Monteiro’s pass to Alex Rocha was short of the sticks on a fourth down in Royals territory.

However, they didn’t capitalize on these chances. The deep ball was there all night, and White found Jamar Howard for 41 yards the first time they tried it, but that drive led to no points. They only got a field goal off Monteiro’s pick after Jack Susank went backwards on third-and-3. Then, the Royals got creative on a reverse pass late in the half for another 41-yard gain, but White was sacked on back-to-back plays as time ran out.

Both offenses started to show signs of life in the third quarter. Even with Rogers leaving the game, the Drillers took the ball 65 yards in eight plays, culminating with a 24yard touchdown pass from Monteiro to Daylon Leach, who held on in tight coverage for the score.

The Royals opened up their playbook again. Late in the quarter, they opened a drive with a flea flicker, and White hit Howard for 49 more yards to set up Hernandez’s first touchdown and make it 14-10.

The Royals had a chance to win back possession when the Drillers stalled at the edge of field-goal range. But on fourth-and-7, BHS sent Monteiro up the middle on a quarterback draw, and he sprinted for 17 yards. On the next play he followed his blockers around left end for a key 12-yard touchdown in what he called a “do-or-die situation.”

“I had to take it in my own hands,” Monteiro said, “and do what I do, and get in the end zone one way or another.”

The score was critical, because Hernandez would not be denied on the next drive, making a quick cut on a run up the middle and bolting 61 yards for the touchdown. The Royals tried a surprise onside kick, but it went out of bounds at their own 48.

With about seven minutes left, the Drillers couldn’t run down all the remaining clock, but they did get it down inside of three minutes before punting. Taking over on its own 19, Mission Prep’s big-play offense flatlined. Hernandez lost a yard on a handoff, the Royals let the clock run, and then White threw a pair of incompletions, including a near-interception. A pair of fourth-down penalties pushed them back and then annulled Garrett’s catch down the sideline, and White’s final heave was far short of any receiver.

It wasn’t pretty, but it goes down as another win for BHS, which started its year with three losses, a fired coach, and a month-long hiatus. The Drillers will host SWYL rivals Frontier — after the Titans had to cancel their regular-season meeting due to COVID-19 issues — in the Division II semifinals next Friday.

“I guess it was fate,” Shehee said.