SAN DIEGO HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL : A LOOK AT THE 2-A FINALISTS : Second Shot at San Pasqual Has San Marcos Fired Up

After the gun sounded in the fourth quarter to end a 6-0 loss to San Pasqual High School in the regular-season finale, the San Marcos players were sure their season was over.

The loss had sent San Marcos, the preseason favorite to win the Avocado League, into fourth place. No league had ever had four teams selected to the section playoffs.

Until this season.

San Marcos will get a rematch with San Pasqual when the teams meet for the San Diego Section 2-A title Saturday in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

It has been an up and down season for San Marcos. After the loss to San Pasqual, it looked as if San Marcos was down and out.

After that game, San Marcos quarterback Rick Ebert dejectedly approached Coach Ken Broach.

“Coach,” Ebert said. “It just seems too short.”

Then Ebert walked over and sat on the bench.

“I just burst out in tears,” Ebert said. “That was probably the saddest moment I’ve ever had.”

Eric Enright, a wide receiver for San Pasqual, and Ebert have been close friends since they attended eighth grade in Newport Beach.

“He came up to me after the game, and that meant a lot to me--that friendship,” Ebert said. “He sort of felt it for me.”

San Marcos figured to dominate the Avocado League this season with 39 seniors on its roster. The returnees included three players who had started since their sophomore seasons--Ebert, linebacker Mark Villalobos and defensive tackle John Nichol.

San Marcos opened the season with three games against 3-A Palomar League teams. It tied Orange Glen and Poway and lost to Fallbrook. Orange Glen and Fallbrook advanced to the section playoffs.

Then came a 36-0 league victory over Rancho Buena Vista, and San Marcos seemed to be on its way.

But then came a jarring 36-10 loss to El Camino and, three weeks later, a 21-7 loss to Oceanside. And, finally, the 6-0 loss to San Pasqual.

Ebert said Broach told the players he didn’t understand what was wrong with the team.

“We couldn’t really figure out ourselves what was wrong,” Ebert said. “We didn’t have the team enthusiasm. Nobody was pumped up.

“Every team needs good athletes, to be well coached and have a good program. We had that. But every team needs that enthusiasm. The coaches don’t go out and say, ‘Today, we are going to coach enthusiasm.’ ”

San Marcos (6-4-3) finally found its enthusiasm and a second chance in the playoffs.

Playing all its playoff games on the road, San Marcos has defeated Christian (21-0), El Capitan (24-9) and second-seeded La Jolla (14-7 in overtime).

“In order to get that enthusiasm we had to do something different (before the playoffs),” Ebert said. “We got our heads shaved. Just the sides, but our ears are all sticking out.”

Last week, the assistant coaches went out on their own to get their hair cut. Except for Broach.

“We have a surprise for him at Friday’s assembly,” Ebert said.