BURLINGAME – Half Moon Bay came out of its timeout in overtime in need of 3 yards.
After multiple momentum shifts, this team with a losing record opted for a two-point attempt Friday night on the road against an undefeated league foe to seal an upset.
“We went to the huddle and they said, ‘It’s on you, 3,’” said HMB quarterback William Moffitt, referring to his jersey number. “And I was just like, ‘I can’t give up. This is my team, these are my brothers, and I had to push hard and get the win.’ We deserved that win.”
Moffitt, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound senior, took the snap, faked the hand-off, got stuffed at the line of scrimmage, spiraled to his right and with his back to the end zone barely managed to cross the goal line.
Half Moon Bay 42, Burlingame 41.
“We knew if we score, we’re going for two – we had to,” said HMB fullback Quinn McCauley, who walked into the end zone from a yard out just moments earlier. “That’s just how this program is built and that’s just how we are. There was never any doubt, which is awesome.”
There was a brief moment of doubt when it came to the referee, who paused for a couple of seconds before walking down the goal line to raise both of his arms.
No. 18-ranked Burlingame (7-1, 3-1 Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division), which at first celebrated a victory because it was convinced the defense held its ground, stood in a state of shock on its sideline after witnessing a wild end to its quest of a perfect season.
Not all is lost, though.
The result of next week’s matchup at Menlo-Atherton (6-2, 3-0) could create a three-way share of the league title with Half Moon Bay (3-4, 2-1), which lost to Menlo-Atherton 47-46.
“It’s just a heartbreaker,” Burlingame coach John Philipopoulos said. “I feel bad for our kids. It’s a credit to Half Moon Bay. Feel good for them, they’re good guys, coaches, good program. They’re going to win a lot more games, and so are we. We just have to regroup, get back after it.
“I told the kids, ‘Wear it tonight, I get it, you’re going to feel it. Tomorrow morning we show up at 9 a.m. and we move on.’ Easier said than done, but there’s really nothing else we can do.”
There’s at least one thing the Panthers could’ve done differently.
With nine seconds left in regulation, Burlingame had its own shot for the win coming out of a timeout from 3 yards out. But instead of attempting a 20-yard field goal, Philipopoulos called for a toss play on third-and-goal only to be stuffed as time ran out.
Panthers quarterback Ryan Kall, who is also the placekicker and punter, missed a 22-yard field goal midway through the second quarter and also had two extra points blocked.
This left Philipopoulos in a difficult spot.
“The miss really had no impact, it was the two blocks,” he said. “Ryan is a really good kicker, he’s been super accurate, he’s been a real weapon for us in the kicking game – and obviously behind center. But the two blocks really gave me pause.
“In hindsight, yeah, if you ask me now I’d kick it, right?”
Momentum shifts were prevalent throughout the night.
After trading touchdowns on each of their opening drives, Moffitt intercepted a pass at the mouth of the goal line and returned it 40 yards on the first play of the second quarter.
On the next snap, he threw a lateral to junior Liam Harrington, who in turn tossed a 58-yard touchdown to senior Jack Furr to make it 14-7.
“Offensive coordinator (Ronnie Ekis) just looked at me and called the play,” HMB coach Keith Holden said. “And I go, ‘Oh, absolutely, we gotta do it.’”
Burlingame didn’t blink.
Will Uhrich caught a 27-yard touchdown and Lukas Habelt scored on a 37-yard burst within a two-minute span late in the first half as the Panthers went into the locker room up 20-14.
HMB’s deficit increased to 26-14 after Habelt found the end zone again on the opening drive out of intermission.
“We realized that we weren’t playing physical, we weren’t playing with heart, we weren’t playing with pride,” McCauley said. “Our coaches gave us a game plan at halftime, we all looked at each other, nodded our head and said, ‘We got this. We gotta come out and be more physical and just play Cougar football.’”
McCauley’s 3-yard touchdown on a fourth-down call with 3:23 left in the third quarter sparked a 20-0 outburst that included a 49-yard TD catch by PJ Modena and a 1-yard keeper by Moffitt.
Suddenly trailing 34-26, Burlingame managed to pull even with 4:52 left in the fourth quarter after one of Habelt’s trio of TDs was followed by a two-point conversion off a scramble by Kall.
“We played well, they played well, it was an exciting game,” Philipopoulos said. “It was back and forth. We had an opportunity to kind of pull away a little bit, they climbed right back in, went on a run, took a lead, we came back. I mean, it was a great game, right?”
For Burlingame, Habelt ran 18 times for 111 yards and three touchdowns. Kall finished 11-of-16 for 166 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown to Daniel Hilt on the opening possession of overtime. Uhrich, his favorite target, caught seven balls for 113 yards and a pair of TDs.
For HMB, McCauley amassed 131 yards on 18 carries and found the end zone three times, the first time on an 18-yard swing pass.
McCauley’s final touchdown set up the “never-any-doubt” moment of the night in overtime.
“I preach so much to them we’re going to be aggressive, being passive doesn’t win games,” Holden said. “So I can’t tell them not to do it. We talked about it before we score, ‘Hey, we get in here, we go for two, right?’ And what was nice is as we were going out onto the field after we score the kids go, ‘We’re going to win now.’
“The kids were on the same page as we were.”
It most definitely must’ve felt like a joyful bus ride back to the coast.
“This meant a lot to us, this is very special,” Moffitt said. “It’s a rivalry game for our coaches and it just feels so good beating an undefeated team and just showing what we’re all about.
“This team has so much heart and so much pride, it’s unbelievable.”
