Resilient San Marino High erases 21-point fourth-quarter deficit to win bowl game

Not until someone pulled the light switch to make the San Marino High football field go dark on Saturday night did fans and players finally leave. There was so much admiration for a team that overcame a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter using second and third-string quarterbacks.

“It was amazing,” standout receiver J.P. Shohfi said.

San Marino’s 36-35 victory over Chatsworth Sierra Canyon in the CIF championship Open Division small school regional bowl game was a testament to the resiliency and courage of a teenager.

Things looked bleak for the Titans (15-0). Their star quarterback, Carson Glazier, left the game late in the second quarter after being thrown to the turf on a sack. The backup quarterback, Mark Wicke, came on and couldn’t lead the Titans to a score when the ball reached the one-yard line just before halftime. By the end of the third quarter, San Marino trailed, 35-14.

Then the third-string quarterback, sophomore Blake Cabot, was put in. Sierra Canyon welcomed him with two roughing-the-passer penalties. He responded by throwing passes to Shohfi, who kept making catches. Shohfi finished with 10 receptions for 232 yards and one touchdown. He was limping from hits to his ankle and his thigh. Shohfi raised his season totals to 113 catches for 2,267 yards and 29 touchdowns.

When San Marino needed a touchdown and two-point conversion for the win, the Titans gave the ball to Wicke. His one-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion run with 1:11 left sent San Marino fans into a frenzy and left their veteran coach, Mike Hobbie, in awe.

“I don’t have words to explain that comeback except my kids never gave up,” he said. “They stuck together and when you have a receiver like J.P. Shohfi and the ball is in the air, he’s going to come down with it.”

If you want to see the most underrated player in Southern California, go watch the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Shohfi. The senior who’s being looked at by Yale and starting to talk with Michigan can’t wait to play a 16th game Saturday in Sacramento against Modesto Central Catholic (15-0) even if his body is beaten up.

“No one’s 100% at this point,” he said. “You’ve been going at it for so long. We’re still playing for the love of the game. That’s why we’re out here playing for each other, playing because we love football. We’d never want to stop.”

Whatever happens this coming weekend, the lesson learned from one of the great comebacks in 2015 won’t be forgotten by San Marino players and their fans.

“It’s all about fighting,” Shohfi said. “We had all our players keep the mind-set you can never give up in a game because you never know what’s going to happen no matter the circumstances.”

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATSondheimer