After an impressive comeback win in the quarterfinals over Montgomery, Mission Bay had its 2022 season come to an end on Friday, Nov. 18 after a 21-3 loss at Fallbrook.

Mission Bay kept the game within striking distance and had a chance to tie the game in the second quarter when they got to Fallbrook’s 3-yard-line, but had to settle for a field goal and a 7-3 deficit at halftime. Fallbrook ended up putting the game away with a late fourth-quarter touchdown to punch their ticket to the final while the Bucs finished with an 8-5 record overall.

“I feel like it was a successful season, especially for our senior class,” said Mission Bay quarterback Ethan Silber. “I can say we left the school in a better place.”

The Bucs made it to the semifinals after a dramatic 17-10 road victory over Montgomery on Nov 11. The team, led by head coach Greg Tate, came back after falling behind 10-0 by scoring 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter for the win.

“Hats off to Montgomery, we knew they’d play great defense, they had our number through three quarters before we started making plays on offense,” said Tate. “A lot of praise to our guys on special teams and defense for getting stops and giving the offense a chance to finish the game strong.”

What made this win even more satisfying was the fact that Montgomery beat Mission Bay on Sept. 16 in a game that turned out to be a battle of field goals with the Chula Vista school winning 9-6.

The Bucs started the playoffs with a 24-12 victory over Westview, bouncing back after losing their final two regular season games to Point Loma and Morse, after starting the season winning four straight and five out of six. Mission Bay also outscored its opponents 358 to 277 with its most dramatic victory coming on Oct. 14 in a 40-33 overtime win over Canyon Hills.

“All the locker room stuff created great memories,” Silber added. “Also, the Montgomery win in the quarters is a really cool memory.”

Photo by Steve Sidell