RICHMOND — The Salesian High School football team was in trouble.
Although Salesian entered halftime with a three-touchdown lead Saturday, the Pride saw Justin-Siena chip away at the advantage until it was only three points with approximately four minutes to play in the North Coast Section Division VI championship game.
Then, an unlikely hero came up with perhaps the play of the game for the host Pride.
Paul Victor, a junior, grabbed an errant pass deep in Salesian territory for his first interception in his first year of high school football. Victor, who is listed only as a wide receiver on the team’s MaxPreps.com roster, then returned the ball 49 yards to the Justin-Siena 30, setting up the eventual game-winning touchdown in a 28-26 Salesian victory.
“There were no receivers coming my way, so I just went to the other side and tried to make a play on the ball,” Victor said. “We never give up. We fight through adversity, so that was something we were prepared for.”
Salesian (9-2), the No. 1 seed, kept the ball on the ground after Victor’s interception and eventually scored with 53.9 seconds left on a one-yard touchdown run by quarterback Nick Fontanilla. A two-point conversion run failed and Salesian led 28-19.
But No. 3 Justin-Siena (7-6) had no intention of going away quietly. Josiyah Maddalone returned a short kickoff 60 yards for a touchdown, and a successful point-after-touchdown kick by Robert Sangiacomo narrowed Salesian’s lead to 28-26. Then Justin-Siena recovered the ensuing onside kick, and there were still 42.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Salesian’s defense held firm again, though. Justin-Siena quarterback Zachary Zurowski ran for two yards and spiked the ball on two straight plays, then had incompletions on third and fourth down to end the Braves’ threat.
Salesian coach Chad Nightingale has now led the football program to seven NCS titles since 2005 and two in the last three years.
“I’m very excited for the kids,” he said. “First of all, give credit to Justin-Siena. They’re down 22-0 at halftime, and their coach probably said what I would have said to my kids, you’re not out of this game.
“They had three quick strikes. Where my kids played very well is we really didn’t allow them to have a sustained drive,” Nightingale added. “What it comes down to is that we made a few more plays than they did, but man, was I impressed with them.
“At the end of the day, what (the Salesian team has) done is they’ve really started to mesh. They never got down on one another. When all of a sudden Justin is coming back, coming back, our kids responded. Wonderful job by our kids.”
Salesian’s first touchdown was scored by another unlikely hero. Christian Harris, a senior who missed a large majority of this season due to a broken wrist, rushed for a 10-yard score on the opening drive of the game and rushed for 56 of his 69 yards in the first half. He also played linebacker on defense and had an interception to end Justin-Siena’s final first-half drive.
“I’m a fullback, so I’m known for blocking a lot, but I was happy that they gave me the ball,” Harris said. “We put in a lot of hard work throughout the season. It just feels great to win.”
The Pride took an 8-0 lead on a two-point conversion pass from Fontanilla to Andrew Prince.
Justin-Siena reached the red zone on its first drive, but a nine-yard sack by Salesian’s Michael Anthony Hamor Jr. on a fourth-down play ended the drive.
A blocked punt by Salesian’s Mian Shah led to the Pride’s second touchdown, a three-yard run by Noah Del Sol. Salesian took a 22-0 lead late in the second quarter on a five-yard run by Fontanilla (who had 53 total rushing yards) and a two-point conversion run by Harris.
But Justin-Siena’s Zurowski then started moving the ball through the air. The senior passed for 109 of his 163 yards in the second half.
He first threw a 42-yard touchdown to Sangiacomo with 6:34 left in the third quarter for Justin-Siena’s first points. A little over three minutes later, the Braves got back in the game on a 57-yard halfback pass for a touchdown from Maddalone to Eric Gutierrez, and Salesian’s lead was cut to 22-12.
When Zurowski scored on a 19-yard run with 7:19 to go in the fourth quarter, and Sangiacomo sent a low PAT kick just over the bar, Justin-Siena trailed by just 22-19. But Salesian prevailed.
“We just pulled together and trusted each other to pull through as a team,” Fontanilla said.
Salesian’s Devin Quinn rushed for a game-high 97 yards. Salesian’s defense, which allowed only eight total rushing yards in the game, also received a fumble recovery by Emilio Mendez.
