St. Vincent holds off California School for the Deaf in Wild finish

St. Vincent High School’s Mustangs were the last team scoring and the last team standing Saturday night in a wild 51-44 win over California School for the Deaf.

Playing under temporary lights in their Yarbrough Field home, the Mustangs scored on a 68-yard pass connection between quarterback Jacob Porteous and wide receiver Jeremy Bukolsky with just 55 seconds remaining in the game to pull out their ninth victory in 10 games and climax one of the wildest shootouts since Team Earp battled Team Clanton in the Tombstone Bowl.

St. Vincent now rests and recuperates as it awaits its fate in the North Coast Section Division 7 playoffs. The Mustangs could be in line for a first-round playoff home game. CSD’s Eagles, despite a solid 5-3 season, could be on the outside looking in come playoff time. The Eagles are ranked No. 12 in the division with only eight teams making the playoffs.

CSD certainly performed like a playoff caliber team Saturday night, matching the Mustangs big play for big play in a wildly entertaining football game between two independent schools.

CSD’s Calel Aramboles showed why he is a high-school All-American on the game’s opening kickoff, grabbing the ball in the middle of a bevy of would-be St. Vincent tacklers and racing 81 yards for a touchdown before an offensive play had been run.

Aramboles, a senior, shared the spotlight with St. Vincent’s fantastic freshman Kai Hall. Despite intense interest from the Mustang defense, Aramboles ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. Hall was even more spectacular for St. Vincent, gaining 253 yards on a workhorse 29 carries and two scores.

A pass interception by Liam O’Hare set up a 40-yard drive by St. Vincent that culminated in a 20-yard touchdown pass from Porteous to Bukolsky that, coupled with Giovanni Vaca’s conversion kick, put the Mustangs in front, 7-6, at the end of the first quarter and touched off a wild back-and-forth battle that continued into the game’s final minute.

It also marked a big game by both Mustang standouts. The sophomore quarterback completed 11 of 19 passes for 160 yards and three touchdowns. Bukolsky, a junior, caught all three scoring tosses. He had five receptions for 100 yards in the game.

St. Vincent clung to a 14-13 advantage until the final seconds of the first half when the Porteous-Bukolsky combination clicked again for a 7-yard score that put the Mustangs up, 21-13, at the mid break.

The second half put the wild into west.

When St. Vincent upped the advantage to 28-13 on an 7-yard burst by Andrew Kohler to cap a 65-yard Hall-led drive to start the third quarter, it looked like the Mustangs had things well in hand.

Wrong!

CSD answered the St. Vincent score almost immediately, with quarterback Miles Gonzales throwing to CSD leader Jaylen Johnson for an 82-yard catch-and-run score that cut the Mustang lead to 28-21.

Hall continued to carry the St. Vincent offense on a 56-yard march that ended with the freshman into the end zone standing from 2 yards out and a 35-21 advantage for his side.

The resilient Eagles again came right back, with Johnson zig-zagging his way 82 yards for the Eagles’ second kickoff return touchdown of the game. That made the score 35-28, with St. Vincent in front and the wildest quarter still to come.

CSD started the fun with a nifty bit of trickery that had halfback Johnson shocking the Mustangs by throwing a pass that Leonardo Vergara took 95 yards to the end zone. Vergara then knelt to hold for the PAT kick attempt, but continued the deception by running the ball into the end zone for a 2-point conversion that put CSD on top for the first time since Aramboles’ kickoff return, 36-35.

St. Vincent ate up most of the period’s remaining time, but not its excitement, with an impressive 68-yard drive that ended with Kohler into the end zone from the 4-yard line. Porteous passed to Rory Morgan for a 2-point conversion and St. Vincent led 43-36.

All the Mustangs needed to do was to hold on for two and a half minutes. They couldn’t accomplish the task.

Three runs by Aramboles, combined with three nearly lethal St. Vincent penalities, two for personal fouls, allowed the Eagles running back to score from the 3-yard line.

Gonzalez wrestled Johnson’s conversion pass away from the St. Vincent defender and CSD was back in front, 44-43.

All the Eagles had to do was hold on for 1 minute and 58 seconds. They couldn’t accomplish the task.

Immediately following the CSD kickoff, the Mustangs gave the ball to the elusive Hall, who ripped his way into CSD territory only to lose the football near the Eagle 40-yard line.

All CSD needed to do was hang onto the football for a minute and 40 seconds. They couldn’t accomplish the task.

The aroused St. Vincent defense, helped by an illegal procedure penalty, stopped three straight CSD running plays and the Eagles punted.

On St. Vincent’s first play from its 32-yard line, Bukolsky found himself lonesome behind the CSD defense, Porteous’ pass was perfect, and the teeter totter finally stopped with St. Vincent in the top position.

All St. Vincent had to do was to hang on for 55 seconds. They accomplished the task.

St. Vincent coach Trent Herzog was proud of his team and happy with the win, but he was also impressed with the Eagles.

“No one should have lost that game,” he said. “They are a very good football team. It is always fun to play them. It was a great football game.”