This is not the way the regular season was supposed to end for the Pointers.
On Thursday afternoon, Nov. 9, at Mission Bay High School, the final drama played out in the Western League title race when the formerly unbeaten-in-league Point Loma High football team came for a fight, losing 20-24.
The teams seemed evenly matched in what was the most anticipated game of the season for many fans. Emotions ran high throughout and big plays reigned supreme. Mission Bay’s first score came on an 85-yard kickoff return by senior running back Victor Johnson.
“It was a close game. We just didn’t capitalize on some opportunities and they have some real good players over there,” said head coach Mike Hastings. “That kickoff return was big and that freshman (15-year-old running back Dillon Baxter) is real good, but ultimately we’re 8-2 and still league champions.”
The Dogs bit first when senior running back Lester Arnold ran the ball in from the 4-yard line. The score was tied almost immediately when Johnson broke though on the runback. Arnold added his second touchdown with a few minutes left in the first quarter, carrying the ball for the remaining yard of the drive.
Not to be outdone, Mission Bay quarterback Evan Taylor punched across the goal line from the one for the only score of the second quarter. Between touchdowns, both teams punted more than they would have liked, unable to keep sustained drives alive long enough.
“The season went well. We’re a young team and I think we played real hard this year,” said senior lineman Alex Holmes. “We made a lot of mistakes in this game, beat ourselves by not converting on fourth downs and they capitalized on our mistakes, but our backs ran well and o-line blocked good.”
The last time Mission Bay started the second half tied they lost to Hoover 27-13. However, they must have learned from that experience because they didn’t lay down for the Pointers. After Arnold scored his third touchdown, a 4-yard sprint up the exposed middle, it was all Bucs for the remainder of the contest.
Mission Bay showed big-play skills again when Taylor connected on a huge 50-yard touchdown pass to Baxter. The final nails in the coffin came when senior place kicker Lucas Balbi put the Bucs up by four with five minutes left.
“We didn’t play hard enough or smart enough today,” said senior Drew Callejon. “We need to regroup and start the playoffs, the second season, and get back to the place we were before this and keep on going.”
The Pointers and Bucs both have first round byes in the playoffs, with Point Loma coming in as the second seed in Division III.
The semifinals are forecast to pit the Pointers against either Valhalla or Ramona on Friday, Nov. 24, at 1 p.m. at Point Loma. The CIF championship match-up is estimated to be against No. 2 seed Santa Fe Christian for a re-match of last year’s semi-final. This year the CIF Championship games return to Qualcomm Stadium on Dec 4. Division IV will play at 10 a.m.