The Point Loma Pointers (10-2) clinched a 28-21 victory over the Steele Canyon Cougars (9-4) at Catholic Cathedral High School Thursday, Nov. 30.
Senior running back Luis Villavicencio’s 36-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-one play late in the third quarter sealed the win for the Pointers. Villavicencio took a handoff from quarterback Lucas Shaw on an end-around play and cut up-field, outracing the Cougar defense on his way to the end zone.
“It was awesome. Luis has 4.4 speed and [Steele Canyon was] thinking we were going to run Arnold inside because we did that most of the night, so the defense keyed on Arnold and the hole was wide open for Villavicencio outside,” Point Loma head coach Mike Hastings said.
“I just saw the hole open up and I ran the fastest I could towards the end zone. The defense over-pursued and I made a cut back to the hole,” Villavicencio said.
Prior to that play, Hastings was faced with the dilemma of either going for the first down to keep Steele Canyon’s hot second-half offense off the field or risk giving them good field position with more than three minutes left. Point Loma jumped to a 21-0 lead in the first half on touchdown runs by senior running back Lester Arnold and junior back Josh Wade on consecutive 13-play drives.
The third score came when Shaw connected to senior wide receiver Drew Callejon from 45 yards out. Callejon’s score was set up by Villavicencio’s interception on Steele Canyon’s third possession of the game.
The game became a tale of two halves, though, when Steele Canyon fought its way back and closed the deficit to 21-14 early in the fourth quarter on a 12-yard touchdown run by junior running back Jamie Dale and a 15-yard touchdown from junior quarterback Nick Stathas to senior wide receiver Brandon Hughes.
Point Loma responded with a 12-play, 94-yard drive culminated by Villavicencio’s touchdown run with 3:24 left in the game to increase the lead to two touchdowns. But there was still unease among the Point Loma fans.
“We knew Steele Canyon wasn’t going to quit. They fought their way back, but I kept telling our guys that we need to make things happen and make a play,” Hastings said.
The Cougars struck quickly on a 9-play drive as Stathas hit senior wide receiver Eric Carillo on a 17-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone. Steele Canyon was helped by a multitude of clock stoppages, including time-outs, penalties and incomplete passes.
Steele Canyon forced Point Loma to punt after three plays and were on the move again as they drove deep into Pointer territory until sophomore Matt Arlington sacked Stathas with 20 seconds left. The remaining time ran out as the Cougars were unable to get off another play.
