Kings of the North Coast

Braves avenge ’07 playoff loss with first section title in four years

By TED SILLANPAA
Register Sports Writer

MARTINEZ — Justin-Siena High’s offense saved its best for last, but it was the defense that paved the way to the North Coast Section Div. IV championship on Friday night.

Quarterback Eddie Aguayo accounted for 189 yards of total offense and two touchdowns, but it was the Braves’ defensive dominance in the second half that led to a convincing 28-14 win over Salesian before a chilled, standing-room-only crowd at Alhambra High School.

The raucous Braves crowd swarmed the field as time expired to celebrate head coach Rich Cotruvo’s fourth NCS championship.

Dan Pardini blasted 55 yards on the Braves’ first play of scrimmage and scored on the next play to give Justin a near-immediate lead, with 9 minutes, 16 seconds left in the first period. The bruising senior back went on to rush 13 times for 146 yards and a second score.

“We came together as a team in the playoffs and played great tonight,” Aguayo said of the offense that had 299 total yards and 14 first downs. “We kept running our plays and executing.”

The Justin defense actually wavered late in the first half for one of the first times all season. Aguayo threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Craig Cybulski and Jordan Grubbs kicked the second of his four extra points to give the Braves (9-4) a 21-7 lead with 1:27 left before halftime.

Salesian (9-4) kept the ball on the ground for three plays with time running out. Matthew Ching, who rushed for 122 yards in the first half, blew through a big hole and raced 48 yards for a touchdown. Instead of holding a 14-point halftime lead before receiving the second half kickoff, Justin watched James Quintero’s kick cut the lead to 21-14 with 23 seconds left in the second quarter.

“We made some adjustments at halftime,” Justin defensive coordinator Steve Vargus said after the Pride had touched the Braves up for 176 yards in the first 24 minutes. “The kids played up to their potential and the adjustments worked. We did have to dodge a couple of bullets.”

Three “bullets,” actually, since Justin stopped three Salesian drives in Braves’ territory with big plays on fourth down.

Aguayo did give the Braves breathing room just in case any of the bullets had hit their mark. He kept the ball on the veer option right and broke a tackle to cut upfield on the third play of the third quarter. The 5-foot-8, 155-pound junior spun 360 degrees out of a second tackle and outran the defense 65 yards to the Salesian 3-yard line. Pardini bulled in for his second touchdown and the Braves went on top 28-14.

“Salesian has a little different defense, so we did run more to the outside,” Cotruvo said. “Eddie did a nice job and our offensive line was solid, I thought. But, our defense won the game for us tonight.”

Trailing 28-14, Salesian reached a third down-and-one at the Justin 49. Justin’s Spencer Joske hit Ching in the backfield for a one-yard loss. Then, on a play-action run, it appeared that sophomore quarterback Ikaika Woolsey had the first down. Pardini outran him to the corner, though, and hit him forcing a fumble that Casey Tompkins recovered to end the drive.

Salesian got the ball back and moved inside Justin territory again. Tompkins stopped Ching for a short gain before Clayton and Pardini stuffed the senior speedster for no gain. Defensive end Guido Murnig stopped Ching in the backfield on fourth down to turn the ball over to Justin.

“The kids have played like that all year long,” Vargus said after tackles Tompkins and Jeff Dunbar plugged the middle over the crucial final 24 minutes.

Cornerback Damien Lapuyade recovered a fumble for Justin to stop Salesian on its next possession. The Pride’s defense kept Justin in check, though, and Salesian got the ball back after a punt at their own 20.

Zach Wheeler rambled 25 yards with a screen pass and Logan Grogan caught 15-yard pass from Woolsey to push the ball to the Justin 34. After a Justin penalty gave Salesian a first down at the Braves 19, Ching raced seven yards.

“We’d only seen Ching on film. We knew he was good, but he’s way better than we expected. He’s a great runner,” Cotruvo said after Ching finished with 152 yards on 26 carries.

An incomplete pass and an illegal procedure penalty left the Pride facing third-and-eight. Pardini blitzed off the edge to forced another incompletion. The drive stalled when Grubbs had the receiver covered and a pass fell incomplete out of the back of the end zone.

“I told this team that I had a special feeling about them,” Cotruvo said. “They play well together and they get along. They’re a true team. They showed that all year and they showed it tonight. The best teams wins championships and these kids are a true team.”

Grubbs sealed the game for the defense with a pass interception with 3:09 left in the game.

Aguayo was brilliant in the title game. He ran 17 times for 133 yards. He completed five of seven passes for 56 yards. He and Pardini sparked a ground game that enabled the Braves to overcome losing two fumbles. The quarterback’s play typified a late-season drive that took the Braves from a two-game losing streak and a 4-4 record on a five-game winning streak to the NCS crown.

“I can honestly say that we never put our heads down at any point in the season,” Aguayo said. “We believed in each other.”

Vargus, also the assistant head coach, was the architect of another defense gem that held Salesian to just 36 yards rushing in the second half.

“Every championship and team is special,” he said. “I thought this was a great year because the kids played so well together. They are a real team and just a pleasure to coach.”

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