This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

San Clemente Defeats Mater Dei in Overtime, 28-21

Senior running back Mike Elespuru helps Tritons improve to 4-0 with nonleague victory over Monarchs (0-3) at Santa Ana Stadium.

San Clemente High's football team had to fight back from a deficit and then bounce back one more time when Mater Dei scored with 8.1 seconds left in regulation to force overtime Friday night at Santa Ana Stadium.

But when the Tritons needed a big play, they looked to their ground game, and each time it was Mike Elespuru who followed the blocks, found the holes and broke free to propel San Clemente to a 28-21 nonleague victory in the battle of CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division heavyweights.

The Tritons had first possession in the overtime and Elespuru wasted no time in putting them back on top. He took the handoff from senior quarterback Travis Wilson, found a hole off left tackle, angled up the middle and then broke back right against the grain and outran the Monarchs to the end zone on the first play from scrimmage from the 25-yard line.

Find out what's happening in San Clementewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On Mater Dei's turn with the ball, the Monarchs moved it from the 25 to the seven, but a fourth down pass by junior Ryan McMahon in the right flat fell incomplete and the Tritons were able to celebrate.  

The Monarchs had overcome an early 7-0 deficit to take a 14-7 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Tritons were able to adjust and get back to their game. “We made some adjustments up front with our blocking and it worked out perfectly,” Elespuru said.

Find out what's happening in San Clementewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Trailing 14-7 late in the third quarter, senior cornerback Christian Tober intercepted a Mater Dei pass and returned it to the Monarchs' 28-yard line to ignite the Tritons. Five plays later, Wilson hit junior Christian Bailey along the left sideline and he was able to dive into the end zone as he was tripped up to tie the score at 14-14.

After forcing a Monarch punt, the Tritons got the ball back near midfield and again struck fast. On their second play, Elespuru followed a path much like his overtime touchdown run took him, but this was a 54-yard cutback run to the right corner that gave the Tritons a 21-14 lead.

“When we had to have the plays in the running game, they were there," coach Jon Hamro said.

But the Monarchs would not go quietly. They moved the ball to the Triton five with 1:51 left in the game before turning the ball over on downs after an incomplete pass to the corner of the end zone. However, they were able to use two timeouts and a stop on third-and-three to force the Tritons to punt the ball away with 43.7 seconds left in the game.

McMahon drove his team 54 yards for the tying score. Senior tight end Joshua Cook made a big catch off his back shoulder on fourth down and had enough speed to reach the end zone just as he was tripped up to tie the score at 21-21 with 8.1 seconds left.

Hamro said he would have liked to see his team close out the game when they needed three yards to run out the clock, but said they have grown through their adversity. “The kids were resilient, they kept at it … the kids battled back,” he said.

The Tritons (4-0), ranked No. 4 in the Pac-5, have a final nonleague game at home against Newport Harbor next Friday. The Sailors (1-2) upended previously undefeated Corona del Mar, 29-26, Friday night.

San Clemente finished runner-up to Mission Viejo in the South Coast League last season, but is looking to challenge the Diablos for the title this time around. Friday’s victory over Mater Dei might be just the catalyst they need.

“This is one of the biggest games we’ve had in a long time," Elespuru said. "I think this is going to carry us on through the whole season. It’s a huge momentum game."

Mater Dei, which fell to 0-3 for the first time ever under long-time coach Bruce Rollinson, plays host to Edison next Friday night at Santa Ana Stadium.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?