High School Football: Warriors taken to the wire

On a night when both offenses ran up and down the field, Brethren Christian secured its most contested victory of the season by running beyond the end line after eating the final 14 seconds off the clock.

Brethren punter Joshua Gorrell serpentined his way into the end zone, back out onto the field, then back into the end zone and beyond the back line for a safety as time expired in the Warriors’ 34-30 nonleague win over Temecula Rancho Christian at Ocean View High.

It was the first game of the season at its home field for Brethren, which saw the Eagles cover the playing surface several times with its potent option running attack.

Rancho Christian (3-2), ranked No. 7 in CIF Southern Section Division 13, trailed throughout until pulling even with a touchdown and two-point conversion run that knotted the score at 28-28 with 4:43 left.

But Brethren Christian (5-1), ranked No. 8 in CIF Division 10, answered with an eight-play, 80-yard drive that was keyed by a 50-yard stop-fade pass from Joey Gutierrez to Jason Fuga on third-and-25 to the Eagles’ eight-yard line.

On the next snap, senior tailback Jordan Leonard, who had already posted scoring runs of 71 and 46 yards, swept left and dived into the end zone for a 34-28 lead.

The conversion kick was blocked, and the Eagles were near midfield one play after the ensuing kickoff, when Warriors senior cornerback Brent Nash made a diving interception of a long pass at his own 19 with 1:13 left.

Rancho Christian used two timeouts and benefited from a penalty to bring up fourth down with 14 seconds left, as Brethren Christian ticked down the play clock to the final second before using a timeout of its own.

It was then that special teams coordinator Dave Perkins, a former head coach at Costa Mesa and Estancia high schools, suggested Gorrell squander the final 14 seconds by taking the snap in punt formation and scrambling the clock away.

“Coaches told me to take time off the clock,” Gorrell said of the final play that he admitted he had never practiced. “I kept looking at the clock [located beyond the north end zone that Gorrell retreated into] to see how much time I had left. I saw nine seconds and I knew I had to run around some more to eat the clock up.”

It got interesting when, after Gorrell ran across the end zone near the back line, he veered past the goal line into the field of play. He then put a fake on a would-be tackler and retreated back toward the right side of the end zone.

Leonard finished with 185 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries, but Rancho Christian had two ballcarriers eclipse the 100-yard mark, and another get 90.

Jaden Schieberl had 127 yards and three touchdowns, while Malasi Napoleon had 119 yards and quarterback Carter Treadway gained 90.

Gutierrez completed 23 of 27 passes for 357 yards and two touchdowns to help Brethren earn a 502-387 advantage in total offensive yards.

Nash intercepted in his own end zone for a touchback to halt Rancho’s first possession and caught a 13-yard touchdown pass that gave the hosts a 14-0 lead.

Brethren led, 21-6, at halftime, but Rancho recovered an onside kickoff to start the second half and scored on its next three possessions.

Nonlleague

Brethren Christian 34, Rancho Christian 30

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Rancho Chr. 0 – 6 – 14– 10 – 30

Breth. Chr. 7 – 14 – 7 – 6 – 34

FIRST QUARTER

BC – Leonard 71 run (Cazales kick), 8:06.

SECOND QUARTER

BC – Nash 13 pass from Gutierrez (Cazales kick), 7:21.

RC – Schieberl 6 run (kick blocked), 2:44.

BC – Leonard 46 run (Cazales kick), 1:21.

THIRD QUARTER

RC – Schieberl 3 run (pass failed), 9:16.

BC – N. Sagastume 69 pass from Gutierrez (Canales kick), 7:25.

RC – C. Treadway 3 run (Napoleon run), 3:39.

FOURTH QUARTER

RC – Schieberl 2 run (Napoleon run), 4:43.

BC – Leonard 8 run (kick blocked), 1:55.

RC – Safety, punter ran out of end zone, 0:00.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

RC – Schieberl, 20-127, 3 TDs; Napoleon, 18-119.

BC – Leonard, 16-185, 3 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

RC – C. Treadway, 6-12-2, 43.

BC – Gutierrez, 23-27-1, 357, 2 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

RC – T, Treadway , 3-32.

BC – Fuga, 5-118; N. Sagastume, 5-116, 1 TD.