Top 10 Greatest CIF Bowl Game Moments

The 2012 CIF Bowl Games get underway Friday in Carson with 10 teams looking to put together a winning gameplan that will provide moments that will live on forever.

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The CIF bowl games are just seven years old, but they have already provided some memorable moments over the years. Here's a look at 10 moments that have helped define the California state finals.


Heading into the inaugural Division I championship game in 2006, the focus was on the long winning tradition of the De La Salle Spartans. Not many experts gave Canyon (Canyon Country), which had lost two games during the regular season, a chance to beat a De La Salle team that was 13-0 on the season. But John Diluigi simply wore down the Spartan defense and kept the De La Salle offense off the field. Diluigi finished with 138 yards on 21 carries and one touchdown. He also had a 40-yard run during the game and ended the year with 2,159 yards rushing and 34 touchdowns.{PAGEBREAK} 9. Maurice Williams 80-yard pass from Christoph Bono, 2010

A perennial bowl game participant, Centennial (Corona) was the favorite in the Division I Bowl Game in 2010. However undefeated Palo Alto proved up to the task in winning 15-13. The Vikings broke the game open in the late in the second quarter when Christoph Bono, son of former NFL quarterback Steve Bono, hit Maurice Williams for an 80-yard touchdown pass. The touchdown gave the Vikings a 15-0 halftime lead that Centennial was unable to overcome.{PAGEBREAK} 8. Justin Taliaferro 1 yard run, 2011

After Santa Margarita had taken a 36-30 lead with 6:52 remaining in the 2011 Division I Bowl Game, Bellarmine (San Jose) embarked on a 13-play drive that covered 74 yards and ate up five minutes off the clock. Justin Taliaferro scored the touchdown on a 1-yard run to tie the game. The extra point gave Bellarmine the 37-36 lead with 1:46 remaining. The touchdown looked like it might give Bellarmine the win over Santa Margarita. However Santa Margarita's Johnny Stanton had other ideas (See No. 1).{PAGEBREAK} 7. Noah Perio 25-yard pass from Mike MacGillivray, 2007



Playing in its second Division I Bowl Game in 2007, De La Salle (Concord) took a 24-7 halftime lead against Centennial (Corona). However the Huskies came roaring back and tied the game at 31-31 in the fourth quarter. De La Salle countered with Mike MacGillivray's 25-yard touchdown pass to Noah Perio that ended an 80-yard drive with 5:09 left in the fourth quarter. The Spartans held on for the 37-31 win, its first bowl championship.{PAGEBREAK} 6. Tyler Gaffney 51-yard run to beat St. Mary's, 2008

In one of the most spectacular performances in bowl game history, Tyler Gaffney led Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) to a 37-34 win over St. Mary's (Stockton). He finished with 329 yards on 33 carries with five touchdowns, but the capper was a 51-yard touchdown run that gave Cathedral Catholic the lead for good at 37-34 with 4:45 left in the fourth quarter.{PAGEBREAK} 5. Keaton Engel 2-yard run in 44-40 win over Parker, 2009

In a game that went back and forth and featured nearly 1,000 yards of total offense, Modesto Christian pulled out the 44-40 win on Keaton Engel's 2-yard run with 5:38 left in the fourth quarter. Isaiah Burse added the two-point conversion and the Crusaders held on for the win.{PAGEBREAK} 4. Marshall Jones scores on 7-yard run in overtime to beat Cardinal Newman, 2006

In the very first bowl championship game, Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) came in the heavy favorite with Jimmy Clausen and Marc Tyler leading the way. However the Lions found a tough Cardinal Newman team standing in the way of a perfect 15-0 season and at the end of regulation the two teams were tied at 20-20. Marshall Jones scored the winning touchdown in the extra period on a 7-yard run and the Lions had their state championship.{PAGEBREAK} 3. Darvin McCauley 15-yard pass from Kipeli Koniseti in win over Long Beach Poly, 2008

Two years after being passed over in favor of De La Salle for the first Division I bowl game, Grant (Sacramento) was chosen to play perennial powerhouse Long Beach Poly in the Open Division championship. The Pacers found themselves trailing 20-19 early in the fourth quarter. However Kipeli Koniseti found Darvin McCauley for a 15-yard touchdown pass in the final 1:11 to cap a 68-yard drive and give Grant the win in the first Open Division Bowl Game.{PAGEBREAK} 2. Nicholas Echeverry, 23-yard field goal at the buzzer beats Rocklin, 2009

In the only bowl game decided on the final play, Servite's (Anaheim) Nicholas Echeverry kicked a 23-yard field goal as time expired to break a 30-30 tie and give Servite (Anaheim) the 33-30 win over Rocklin. Servite had held a comfortable 30-10 lead at one point before Rocklin came storming back to tie the game late in the fourth quarter.{PAGEBREAK} 1. Johnny Stanton 1-yard run in final seconds beats Bellarmine, 2011



After Bellarmine had scored on a one-yard run by Justin Taliaferro with 1:46 remaining in the 2011 Division I championship game, it looked like the Bells had clinched the championship by one point, 37-36. But Johnny Stanton had other ideas. He directed a nine-play, 80-yard drive in one minute and 30 seconds and scored on a 1-yard run with 16 seconds left to give Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) the 42-37 victory.