Perfect finish: Windsor wins NCS Div. 2 title

Fri. December 09, 2011 at 11:56 p.m. | By Phil Barber

First-year head coach Rob Gatrell and the Windsor Jaguars bask in their 28-20 victory Friday over Concord at Santa Rosa High School. (Photo by KENT PORTER / The Press Democrat)

By PHIL BARBER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Darrian Roman had been waiting for this moment since he was 8 years old, a wide-eyed kid attending Windsor football games and dreaming of gridiron glory.

When his time came, Roman made the most of it. He scored three touchdowns, including the decisive score on a 62-yard breakaway, and played a key role in the Jaguars’ defensive effort as they outlasted Concord, 28-20, in a wild North Coast Section Division 2 championship game at Santa Rosa High.

Windsor’s first NCS title was the cherry on top of a 14-0 season, and it brought the student section streaming onto the field as the Jaguars dissolved in a frenzy of hugs and back slaps.

“I can’t explain to you how good I feel right now,” quarterback Christian McAlvain said. “What a night. What a night for our guys, what a night for our team.”

To make it happen, Windsor had to overcome a heroic performance by Concord running back Olito Thompson, who rushed 54 times — that is not a typo — for 285 yards in defeat.

In case you’re wondering, the California record for attempts in a game is 71, set by Saddleback’s Luis Soto in 2010.

The top-seeded Jaguars had scouted the No. 7 Minutemen and knew that Thompson would be difficult to contain, and he was every bit as good as advertised. But while he did get loose for a 35-yard touchdown scamper in the second quarter and a 30-yard run late in the game, most of the real estate was difficult to acquire. Only seven of Thompson’s 54 runs netted double-digit yardage.

“Their defense was great. We knew that coming in,” said Thompson, a junior. “Their defense is like ours. They were rated top in the north. We were top in the east. They deserved this win. I can’t say nothing bad about ‘em.”

Concord’s final threat ended when Thompson took a short pass on fourth-and-27 and was tackled after a 13-yard gain with 25 seconds left.

The Jaguars went into the fourth quarter trailing 20-14, but began the final period by stuffing Thompson on a fourth-and-goal play from the 1-yard line.

“The goal-line stand,” Concord coach Brian Hamilton said afterward. “We march down to the 1, they bow their necks and stop us. ... Hats off, man. Great team.”

Two possessions later, Windsor took over at the Minutemen’s 37 after a short, hurried punt, and Roman wound up pounding it in from the 1-yard line to give Windsor the lead.

Concord, trying to bounce back, drove to the Jaguars’ 26-yard line before Windsor forced three straight incompletions to take over on downs. Then, on a third-and-2 play from the Windsor 38, Roman broke the game open. He picked up the first down over the right side, then cut back and was off to the races for the score that made it 28-20.

Roman finished with 20 carries for 173 yards.

If the Jaguars had come up short in this game, they would forever have looked back to the final, disastrous six minutes of the second quarter.

Windsor had gone up 7-0 earlier in the quarter on the first of Roman’s three touchdowns. Then came this alarming sequence: Concord’s Wyatt Morrow hit Jacob Smith in traffic for a 28-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-1; Thompson ran for the 2-point conversion and the Minutemen were up 8-7; Concord attempted an onside kick (Hamilton’s team frequently does), and was successful when Tyler Colby recovered; Thompson spun, ducked a shoulder and scored from 35 yards out (though his 2-point try failed); Concord went back to the onside kick and got it again, this time with Quinton Casey recovering.

Windsor appeared to end the deluge when linebacker Vince Valdes recovered Thompson’s fumble at the Jaguars 6-yard line. But after a couple first downs, McAlvain couldn’t field a snap cleanly on fourth-and-1, and the Minutemen’s Smith scooped up the loose ball and ran 39 yards for a touchdown 2:23 before halftime.

That put the Jaguars in a 20-7 hole, but they shut out Concord in the second half, denying the Minutemen consecutive NCS championships.

Windsor’s first football banner came in Rob Gatrell’s first season as coach.

High school football
NCS DIVISION 2 CHAMPIONSHIP
AT SANTA ROSA HIGH
Concord  0  20  0  0  —  20
Windsor  0  7  7  14  —  28
W: Darrian Roman 2 run (Christian McAlvain kick)
C: Jacob Smith 28 pass from Wyatt Morrow (Olito Thompson run)
C: Thompson 35 run (run failed)
C: Smith 39 fumble return (run failed)
W: Trey Tobon 30 pass from McAlvain (McAlvain kick)
W: Roman 1 run (McAlvain kick)
W: Roman 62 run (McAlvain kick)
Rushing: C—Thompson 54x285. W—Roman 20x173, Jarod Leon 10x40.
Passing: C—Morrow 12/18, 138 yds, 1 TD. W—McAlvain 10/17, 112 yds, 1 TD, 1 int.
Receiving: C—Smith 7x115. W—Tobon 4x87.
Records: C 10-4, W 14-0