SOUTHERN SECTION FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : DIVISION III : Santa Ana Gets a Kick Out of Defeating El Toro, 14-13

Call it cosmic comeuppance or plain dumb luck, but Santa Ana High School defeated El Toro, 14-13, in a California tiebreaker Friday night in the first round of the Division III playoffs at Santa Ana Stadium.

It was a game of such vicious hitting where the most significant hit was El Toro kicker David Nemeth’s slicing the ball just right of the goal post on an extra-point attempt on the last play of the tiebreaker. The missed kick, Nemeth’s first extra-point miss all season, according to El Toro Coach Bob Johnson, gave Santa Ana the victory.

The score was tied at 7-7 after regulation; each team had scored a touchdown in the third quarter. Santa Ana scored first on a 3-yard run by Estrus Crayton that capped a 72-yard drive.

El Toro came right back with a 77-yard drive that ended when quarterback Steve Stenstrom scored from 1 yard out.

El Toro won the coin toss and elected to play defense first. Under the rules of the California tiebreaker, each team is given the ball at the opponent’s 10 with 4 downs to score.

Santa Ana running back Garner Hicks was stopped for no gain on the first play, but went around left end for 10 yards on the next play to score, tiptoeing his way the last few yards. Hicks gained 70 yards in 19 carries.

“I really didn’t think I was going to get in,” Hicks said. “I was just trying to squeeze out a few more yards.”

El Toro, given a chance to tie, started on the Santa Ana 10. Nemeth, who rushed for 77 yards on 20 carries, carried the ball every down of a 4-play series and scored on the last play from less than a yard out.

Nemeth then went back to kick. Santa Ana called time out. When play resumed, Nemeth stood just past the 10. A high snap handled by holder Mike Miller may have interrupted Nemeth’s rhythm for a moment. He moved toward the ball, but hit it a little light. The ball started for dead center and then faded to the right.

It was Dec. 5, 1987, that El Toro and Santa Ana played in the semifinals of the Southern Conference playoffs. Santa Ana had a 12-6 lead with one second remaining when then El Toro quarterback Bret Johnson took the last snap, heaved a prayer that appeared to be intercepted by Santa Ana defensive back Bobby Joyce, only to have El Toro receiver Adam Brass grab the ball from Joyce and take a few steps into the end zone for a 13-12 victory.

El Toro went to the finals where it beat Los Alamitos for its second straight conference championship. Santa Ana was left to ponder what might have been.

“I saw the ball start to tail off,” said Oscar Wilson, Santa Ana defensive lineman about the missed extra-point kick. “I couldn’t believe my eyes. For something like that to happen is unbelievable, but for it to happen against them (El Toro), it’s just incredible.”

Damon Bland, Santa Ana defensive lineman, said: “I was rushing and I didn’t see it. I just heard people yelling that he missed it and I thought they were kidding. When I looked up, I couldn’t believe it.