San Ramon Valley loses heartbreaker in overtime

MISSION VIEJO >> Luke Baker stood on the Saddleback College field Saturday afternoon, his green helmet on, tears dripping down his cheeks and a football under his arm.

The San Ramon Valley quarterback did it all in an attempt to capture a state championship for the Danville school.

He scrambled for big yards when there were seemingly no big yards to be gained. He made big passes. He led his team back one series after another in the second half.

But there would be no celebration for San Ramon Valley when the game ended in overtime.

Baker's final pass of the day and his junior season fell incomplete near the sideline.

When it did, Granite Hills finally exhaled as the El Cajon school won the Division 2-A state title 31-24 in a game the participants on both sides won't forget.

“We deserved this,” Baker said through tears. “The seniors on our team, they deserved this, man.”

Baker mentioned one of his best friends, senior receiver Gavin Jones, who suffered a season-ending knee injury weeks ago. He noted senior receiver Caleb Padrid, who played Saturday on an injured ankle.

“I wish I could have done a little more to make that happen for the guys,” Baker added.

San Ramon Valley (12-3) tried to win in regulation. The Wolves trailed by a touchdown when they took over at their 28 with 3:16 left.

Baker & Co. immediately went to work, making play after play to help get to the 24 with a minute left.

“He's the best,” San Ramon Valley coach Aaron Becker about Baker. “He's the best I've ever coached.”

When the drive stalled, another clutch player on the San Ramon Valley roster ran onto the field and did what he does best.

One week after kicking a 37-yard field goal in the rain on his home field to lift the Wolves to the 2-A state final, junior Austin Shelton nailed a 37-yard field goal with 14 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

“I knew he'd make it,” Becker said. “I told the kids at halftime, `Guys, we're down by a score. If we can stop them, get the ball back, go down and score and keep it close, he's going to win it for us at the end.'

“And he tied it.” Overtime was next, with each side getting the ball 25 yards from the goal line. Granite Hills (13-2) needed six plays to reach the end zone. Isaiah Jackson took a direct snap out of the wildcat formation and scored the touchdown on a 2-yard run.

Baker was sacked for a seven-yard loss on San Ramon Valley's first snap but got a first down with an 8-yard pass to Padrid and a 9-yard pass to Scott on third-and-nine.

The Wolves nearly got the equalizing touchdown when Baker bought time and threw a pass to the back of the end zone. But a big hit knocked the ball free.

Two plays later, the game was over.

The winning side celebrated its first state championship while paying respect to San Ramon Valley.

“Luke Baker is a heck of a quarterback,” Granite Hills coach Kellan Cobbs said, recalling the overtime possession. “When he escaped on that second-down play where we should've stopped him for a loss, I was like `Dang, I hope that doesn't come back to bite us.'”

Baker was sacked eight times but managed to throw for 185 yards and two touchdowns, both to Scott. The quarterback also ran for 44 yards and a touchdown.

After Granite Hills controlled the first half but led only 7-0 at halftime, San Ramon Valley got a stop to start the second half before Baker hit Scott for a 38-yard, game-tying touchdown.

From there, the teams traded one touchdown after another.

Maxwell Turner's 30-yard run reclaimed the lead for Granite Hills, 14-7. San Ramon Valley answered with a 4-yard touchdown from Baker to Scott to pull even 14-14.

Jackson's 10-yard run out of the wildcat on the first snap of the fourth quarter put Granite Hills back on top, 21-14.

San Ramon Valley responded with another huge play by Baker. On fourthand-goal at the 5 midway through the final quarter, Baker looked and looked for an open receiver. With nobody open, he scrambled into the end zone for another tying score.

Robert Petrich's 38-yard field goal with 3:22 to go gave Granite Hills a 24-21 advantage.

Three minutes later, Shelton's field goal extended the game beyond the fourth quarter.

“We were down the whole game,” Baker said. “We've been in situations like this before. Nothing changes for me and nothing changes for the offense. Just trying to complete passes and get first downs. That last play, a little more inside, we could have converted.

“We would have gone for two. We would have scored. We would have been the ones celebrating right now.”

While the loss stung, Scott said he will remember the tight bonds he and his teammates shared.

“Everybody looked down on us early on in the season,” the senior receiver said. “I had high hopes for us. We didn't have as much talent as we had in previous years, but this team was a family. You couldn't really tell who was the senior, who was the junior, who was the sophomore, who was the call-up. It didn't matter. We all played for each other.”

And the Wolves were not done until the final play of a state championship game in overtime.

“It's hard to go out that way,” Scott added. “But it's a great experience.”