San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
SFC TAKES ADVANTAGE OF MT. MIGUEL MISCUE
Mt. Miguel was poised to tie its game against Santa Fe Christian just before halftime on Friday night, but the unthinkable happened.
Do-everything Matadors quarterback Jacob Laverdiere was stopped at the 1-yard line when Luca Torti forced a fumble that Kevin Olah recovered in the scrum near the goal line with less than a minute before intermission.
The Eagles ran a pair of QB keepers by Thomas Greupner to get the ball to the 9-yard line. Then, barely getting the final snap off before the horn, Greupner handed off to Stephen Britton.
The leading rusher in the San Diego Section showed why he is by cutting in and out, twirling about, shedding about six would-be tacklers and actually running about 160 yards (91 officially) over the course of 25-or-so seconds to score and make it a two score game.
“I used to watch him in seventh grade P.E., and that’s exactly what he used to do then,” said SFC coach Jon Wallace, whose team went on to a 28-14 victory to get to 4-0. “He makes you look like a great coach.”
On a simple trap play, Britton said, “We were getting short on time. We knew it was our last play. My offensive line opened a nice hole. The receivers and wings did a great job downfield. I just couldn’t let them down.”
Britton, a 6-foot, 215-pound senior, entered the game as the section’s No. 1 rusher with 851 yards in four games for a 213-yard average and 14 touchdowns for the Eagles.
Britton became the first section back to surpass 1,000 yards on his 91-yard touchdown scamper. He might wind up as the only one. He finished with 202 yards and three TDS on 14 carries to give him 1,053 yards and 17 TDS on the season.
Laverdiere, a 5-9, 185-pound senior, was No. 2 with 536 yards in three games for a 179 average and eight TDS for the Matadors (2-2). He finished with 126 yards and two TDS on 30 carries. He also threw for 150 yards on 14-of-18 passing, and he rarely fumbles.
“That’s tough,” Mt. Miguel coach Troy Starr said. “He just stretched the ball out trying to score, and he knows he shouldn’t do that in that situation.
Britton scored on a 34-yard run to cap an opening, six-play, 60-yard drive. Mt. Miguel answered with a 16-play, 80-yard scoring possession that took 11:14 to make it 7-7 when Laverdiere rushed into the end zone from 4 yards. Laverdiere rushed 12 times on the drive for 68 yards and completed all four passes for the rest.
Six plays later, the Eagles were flying again as Greupner bulled into the end zone for a 3-yard TD.