2014 CIF State Bowl Game, Division IV: Central Catholic overpowers St. Margaret's for third-straight title

CARSON, Calif. --  Fans got to see more of the same in the Division IV State Championship Bowl Game Friday, and as a bonus they got to see something a bit new.

The new wrinkle was seeing a losing team celebrating like it had won the game. And the same old-same old was Central Catholic (Modesto) winning the Division IV State Championship Bowl Game.

The Raiders earned their third title trophy in a row with a 31-19 triumph over St. Margaret's (San Juan Capistrano), a victory at the StubHub Center that wasn't as close as the final score dictated. In their typical fashion, they showed up in Carson with a burly attack and used that strength to punish yet another Southern California opponent en route to a sizable lead.

Two years after setting a Bowl Games record with 521 rushing yards, Central Catholic used the pass a bit more in Friday's victory, utilizing the height of Jared Rice to the tune of six catches and 73 yards with two touchdowns.

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"We saw a little opportunity with their secondary. We know we can throw, but we've run the ball so well. It's not about style points, it's about moving on. We played in the rain (last week) so why throw the ball?," said Central Catholic coach Roger Canepa. "I'm not about style points. I want wins."

Now he has three of them, with major thanks going to Rice, a 6-foot-5 senior who did damage as a tight end and as a safety. His two touchdowns on offense were each registered mostly because of his sizable height advantage over the Tartans' defensive backs. He snagged a 20-yarder from Hunter Petlansky to make it 14-0 with 9:51 left in the second quarter and then changed the score to 31-6 with 5:46 remaining in the third, simply reaching above a disadvantaged St. Margaret's defender for the scoring grab.

And on defense, his two interceptions were registered because of lightning-quick instinct. The first one came with 6:29 left in the first half and the second killed a St. Margaret's drive at the goal line with 2:45 left in the third.

"Their corners were on the smaller side, so me and coach wanted to take advantage of that," said Rice, who finished his season with eight interceptions and his career with three state titles. "This (title) definitely stands out."

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The Raiders may have ended their season in the same fashion, yet the road to the title featured more adversity than they are used to. They were bumped up to the Valley Oak League (with teams that played in Divisions II and III in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs) and ended up finishing third, instead of dominating a conference filled with smaller schools.

Those losses weren't all that bad, it turned out.

"This one was different because we had three losses and moved up in the league and people were counting us out and we hung tough. The last loss to Oakdale was probably good for us, because we were going into the playoffs. We didn't play great and they beat us. It woke us up and we practiced that Saturday and we strapped it up," Canepa said.

They strapped it up Friday right from the start, forcing a three-and-out and then moving 68 yards before Petlansky's quarterback sneak for a touchdown. The teams traded punts and then Rice scored his first TD of the evening, and it became 21-0 with 4:54 left in the half when Montell Bland ran in from 3 yards out.

That information encompasses the expected, or the repeated. What came as a bit of a surprise was how St. Margaret's ended the night.

Charlie Beall caught a 9-yard touchdown from George Krantz on the final play of the game and his entire team sprinted down to the end zone and held a celebration. Central Catholic players started their own revelry on the opposite side of the 50-yard line, and as the squads each met to shake hands afterwards, Tartans players joyously celebrated the fact that they had played for a state title.

"We've been underdogs the last four weeks, nobody but this team believed that we could get to this point. We never quit," said St. Margaret's coach Stephen Barbee, who took over as head coach during the week of the team's first game. "It doesn't matter how many seconds are left. We're still not going to stop trying. If we have one play left we are going to go for it, and it's a credit to the team to be able to respond like they did.

"A lot of teams would have taken a knee or run out the clock - that's not our style. We've got 48 minutes to play, and we are going to play all those 48 minutes."

Turns out that Beall's touchdown had more to it than just finishing strong. He's committed to Stanford as a kicker and with his commitment came a retirement from playing wide receiver. But that final play was his time to shine, and he rose to the occasion, to the delight of his teammates.

"Just to get this opportunity to play here was amazing. We put our faith in coach Barbee and we stuck behind him. We went out not exactly how we wanted to, but pretty darn good. We're proud, we're happy," Beall said.

St. Margaret's also got a 4-yard touchdown from Krantz to Nick Shanks to make it 21-6 in the second quarter and a 23-yard run from Oscar Gomez jr. with 15 seconds remaining in the contest. An onside kick enabled Beall's big catch, which actually followed another catch by him.

As happy as the Tartans were, the Raiders had more reason to smile. And as the second team ever to win three Bowl Games in a row, they've earned a spot in state lore - and maybe a designated parking spot for the team bus in Carson and familiar waves from hotel staff.

"The same people are working at everywhere we go, that makes it nice. The first time we came down here we didn't know where to park, now we're professionals," Canepa said. "The kids make a business trip."

Notes: Central Catholic star running back Justin Rice exited the game at halftime after rushing for 50 yards on seven carries. The team's leading rusher eclipsed 300 yards in the Regional Bowl. ... Raiders kicker Bryce Wade nailed a 32-yard field goal to finish the first half ... Krantz finished with 260 passing yards.

Central Catholic 31, St. Margaret’s 19
 
Central Catholic  7  17   7  0   — 31
St. Margaret’s     0   6    0 13  — 19
 
First quarter
CC – H. Petlansky 1 run (Bryce Wade kick), 5:36
 
Second quarter
CC – Jared Rice 20 pass from Petlansky (Wade kick), 9:51
CC – Montell Bland 3 run (Wade kick), 4:54
SM – Nick Shanks 4 pass from George Krantz (kick failed), 2:37
CC – FG, Wade 32, 0:00
 
Third quarter
CC – Rice 26 pass from Petlansky (Wade kick), 5:46
 
Fourth quarter
SM – Oscar Gomez 23 run (Charlie Beall kick), 0:15
SM – Beall 9 pass from Krantz (no kick attempted), 0:00
 
Individual statistics
Rushing
CC — Kalhiel Dillard 13-83, Petlansky 8-54, Justin Rice 7-50, Bland 13-49, Jared Rice 2-2, Miguel Hernandez 1-2. SM — Gomez 6-34, Shanks 1-0, Krantz 7-(-26).
 
Passing
CC — Petlansky 11-19-0-168. SM — Krantz 17-27-1-260, Shanks 0-1-1-0.
 
Receiving
CC — Rice 6-73, Ryan Vierra 3-58, Jacob Days 1-25, Alex Padilla 1-7, Jared Rice 0-5. SM — Fernando Delgado 5-63, Shanks 4-60, Taylor Freitas 4-39, Beall 2-49, Auston Locke 1-26, Gomez 1-23.
 
Tackles
CC — Jared Rice 7, Austin Escobar 5, James Simmons 3, Hernandez 3, Josh Frowein 3. SM — Dalan Cragun 11, Delgado 8, Ryan Cragun 7, Taylor Freitas 7, Nick Amoukhteh 7. 
 
Team statistics
Rushing attempts-yards: CC 44-241, SM 14-8
Passing yards: CC 168, SM 260
Total offense: CC 409, SM 268
Funbles/lost: CC 1-1, SM 2-0
Turnovers: CC 1, SM 2
Penalties: CC 9-79, SM 8-55
Third down: CC 10-14, SM 1-7