San Clemente Wins SoCal Multi-School Championship Under the Lights
San Clemente Wins SoCal Multi-School Championship Under the Lights
San Clemente won the Southern California Multi-School division of their School season, taking the final 14-10 over Oceanside.
The finals were part of a two-game night for every team, with teams playing a shortened semifinal (40 minutes) and then a 3rd-4th game followed by the final.
San Clemente vs Murrieta
This was the #2 vs #3 team and it was a somewhat weird game. Murrieta dominated field position, barely letting San Clemente out of their 22 for most of the first half.
With prop Ean Glover strong over the ball and with lock Matix Macenas winning lineout ball and No. 8 Tyrone Cullors running well, Murrieta came close to scoring a couple of times. But they couldn’t finish.
San Clemente ended up playing a lot of defense. Photo Alex Goff.
Still San Clemente couldn’t get much value for their clearance kicks, and it wasn’t until center Tristan Gutman and wing Lachlan Vander Zanden started running with the ball that they were able to make ground. The first real entry into the Murrieta half produced points, as the speedy guys got through and then center and captain Caden Hartley raced on through. The conversion was good and it was 7-0.
Not that long after San Clemente got into Murrieta territory again and a nifty tips ball to brady Campbell put the hooker through. Once again the conversion was good.
Murrieta continued to dominate field position and after San Clemente’s second-half kickoff rolled dead they were able to start the second period on the front foot once more.
Finally, after some pressure, Cullors scored on an eightman pick.
The Murrieta back row, featuring captain Cole Bracken and Nolan Abeyta was very good on defense. But when Abeyta laid in a tackle on big SC prop John Cama, he paid for it and, unfortunately, had to leave the game.
San Clemente still led two scores, and they extended it to three when Hartley weaved his way through for the game-sealer. Jesse Valdez kicked his third conversion and that was it.
Oceanside vs Rancho Cucamonga
Rancho entered the game having logged a very good season, but they were down players and had a short bench. That would prove to make life more difficult for them.
Unbeaten coming into the semis, Oceanside was on top of their game. They marched right down to the line and scrumhalf Deacon Maeva, who was pretty electric on the evening, scampered over. A massive burst down the sideline from fullback Griffin Tyler soon made it 12-0 and a nifty break from Maeva set up another try.
Rancho was athletic and tested Oceanside at times, but they struggled to keep the ball through multiple phases. Their back row was hard-working but Oceanside had a bit more unity.
It was 24-0 at halftime.
Deacon Maeva launches a box kick. Photo Alex Goff
In the second half the forwards bulled over for another before a set lineout move put Jonah Tua right through. Some impressive running from freshman center Exodus Taele produced the final try for Oceanside before Rancho was able to score and finish the game on a positive 45-7.
Perhaps the highlight of the game was Oceanside hooker Zavier Leatherman losing the contact lens for his right eye. Seeing half good and half bad, he asked the trainer to put a patch over his non-contact-lensed eye so he could see consistently and then went back out onto the field.
3rd-4th Game
The cruelty of this schedule was such that Rancho had to turn around and play the 3rd-4th game not long after their semi. They were game and played hard, but Murrieta, led by Bracket and Cullors, won comfortably.
The Final
San Clemente and Oceanside had met in the opening weekend, with Oceanside winning 35-32. This game was a bit more tense and perhaps a little more stop-start as both teams were guilty of penalties.
Both teams were determined to keep the other out of their 22 and so it was a hard-hitting game of chess. Neither team could find a scoring chance until Oceanside kicked clear out of their half. One of their chasers was offside, and that was enough for San Clemente. They took the lineout, drove it, and while Oceanside stopped them, SC got a scrum, worked the open side, and the forwards crashed over.
Valdez converted the tough kick and the teams went into halftime with San Clemente up 7-0.
San Clemente wins a scrum. Alex Goff photo.
Conventional wisdom says scoring right before halftime, or right after halftime can be a momentum-builder. So San Clemente figured they’d do both. They pressured off the kickoff, were patient, ran the phases with good support. With a penalty advantage they popped a chip kick over the top and the chase was good. Try, and conversion, and a 14-0 lead.
Oceanside responded almost instantly, getting a penalty off a scrum and thundering at the line. San Clemente were warned about repeated penalties in the red zone but avoided the yellow card. Finally, however, Oceanside prop Thomas Reynoso powered over.
The conversion was a very tough angle, however, and the kick sailed wide.
Oceanside continued to pressure and some superb running from Taele set them up for their second. Once again the kick was away, so Oceanside now needed a try t win it.
It wouldn’t come. San Clemente’s defense was pretty heroic and their kicking game was solid, too. One rather weird clearance kick rolled straight to Tyler and just when you’d expect the ball to rise up into his chest, it bounced right over his head. That was a big one as it ended up being a San Clemente lineout. They were able to kill off the game from there.
Overall it was a thrilling night and a nice end to the Multi-School season in SoCal. The final was an inch here or an inch there, and certainly the San Clemente players will be thanking Valdez for his accurate kicking. Both teams played fast and hard, and many of them will now be playing with or against each other in club play.
