Verdugo Hills Stopped by Marshall, 30-28

At the time, Verdugo Hills High football Coach Don Scott Jr. thought it was the right call.

Fifteen minutes later, he wasn’t so sure.

Not after Walter Hernandez of Marshall kicked a 19-yard field goal with 36 seconds remaining to give the Barristers a 30-28 victory over Verdugo Hills in a Northern Conference game Friday at Marshall.

Verdugo Hills had a 28-27 lead and Marshall was out of timeouts with 2 minutes 34 seconds left, but Scott went for a first down on fourth and two from his own 39-yard line.

Sean Standley was stopped after a one-yard gain, giving Marshall (3-2, 2-1 in conference) one last chance after trailing, 28-14, at the end of the third quarter.

“I figured that if we ran it and got [the first down], the game was over,” Scott said. “We hadn’t been able to stop them on defense so I figured if they got the ball back, they might score. But looking back, I probably should have punted.”

Marshall drove to the Verdugo Hills five-yard line with 1:15 remaining before Jaime Isaza, who completed 10 of 20 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns, was stopped for no gain on second down and then threw incomplete.

That brought on Hernandez, who nailed a line-drive kick through the goal posts after Verdugo Hills (2-4, 1-2) called a time out with 38 seconds left to rattle him and then jumped offside.

“The kids played well,” Scott said. “This was the coach’s fault. This was definitely a time where the coach has to take the blame.”

Verdugo Hills took a 28-14 lead with 48 seconds left in the third quarter when Standley scored his third touchdown of the game on a 39-yard run and Israel Chitay kicked the extra point.

The Dons, however, managed just eight yards on their last three possessions.

Standley gained 195 yards in 27 carries, but had minus-five yards in five carries in the fourth quarter.

Ethan Slimak completed 10 of 21 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown for Verdugo Hills, but his fumble at the Dons’ 34-yard line with 6:45 left set up Marshall’s fourth touchdown drive.

The Barristers trailed by a point after Isaza’s two-point conversion pass was batted down by Jason Capuano with 4:07 left.