Diablos lose their halftime lead but come through late to earn a win over the New Jersey power.
Quarterback Ian Fieber and the Mission Viejo Diablos emerged victorious in an overtime thriller Saturday against Don Bosco Prep.
Photo by Kirt Winter
After one team made a cross-country flight and two full days of football culminated in the final showcase game,
Mission Viejo (Calif.) and
Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) saved the best for the last minutes.
A wild final two minutes of regulation and an eventful overtime period, occurring in the wee hours of the morning for the Ironmen, all built up to a 28-25 victory for the Diablos.
Peyton Marshall, Mission Viejo
Photo by Kirt Winter
started overtime with a 20-yard field goal for Don Bosco Prep, but the Diablos got tricky on the way to the victory. According to the Los Angeles Times, Mission Viejo lined up to attempt a game-tying, 33-yard field goal in overtime but executed a fake, getting a connection from
Hunter Bland (the holder) to
Peyton Marshall good for four yards and a first down. Then
Alex Suchesk sent the crowd home by ending the game with a 12-yard touchdown run on a sweep for Mission Viejo (ranked No. 46 in the Freeman Computer Rankings).
It came down to overtime because the Diablos' kicking game converted on a clutch field goal in the final minute.
Zach Olson connected from 30 yards out to tie the game with 7 seconds left, and that erased the disappointment the Diablos experienced when Bosco (ranked 31st in the nation) scored a touchdown and 2-point conversion with 1:01 left in the contest.
Elijah Ibitokun-Hanks scored from nine yards out and then
Alex Kaplanovich converted a 2-point conversion to make it 22-19.
See the Qwixcore game log
The Diablos sprinted to a fast start on their home field, utilizing a 25-yard field goal from Olson in the first quarter and then two more scores in the second quarter: An 18-yard scoring pass from
Ian Fieber to
Sean Modster and a 25-yard field goal from Olson.
The Ironmen battled back with Ibitokun-Hanks' third-quarter touchdown from five yards away and then a 10-yard fumble return for a score in the fourth quarter by
Mike Gutjahr. The extra point gave Bosco the lead midway through the fourth quarter, but Mission Viejo fought back with a one-yard score from Suchesk.
Fieber ended up passing for 264 yards and Suchesk ran for 70, while Ibitokun-Hanks carried the ball 30 times for 137 yards, according to the Times.
Alex Kaplanovich hauls in a catch in overtime Saturday.
Photo by Kirt Winter
