Cathedral Catholic finishes perfect with instant state-title classic

Video: Recap of Cathedral Catholic vs. Narbonne
See highlights from the Dons' playoff win over Narbonne.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Everything was perfect. The snap by Cameron King. The hold by John Carney. And the 20-yard field goal by Liam King that completed the perfect season for Cathedral Catholic (San Diego).

Liam King's kick in overtime finished off a remarkable rally and improbable 38-35 CIF Division 1-AA State Bowl Championship overtime win over St. Mary's (Stockton) Friday at Sacramento State.

The Dons (15-0) had fought back from a two-score fourth-quarter deficit with a 21-0 flurry in less than eight minutes before St. Mary's tied it was a 70-yard touchdown bomb from Jake Dunniway to Tre Jenkins with 39 seconds left to send it into overtime.

On its first possession from the 10, St. Mary's (14-2) was stopped on fourth down from the 2 — it's fifth time coming up empty in the red zone — before King drilled the game winner on fourth down.

The 5-foot-9, 165-pound senior is a soccer player first who joined the program as a freshman. He won't be kicking a football in college. Not with a helmet and pads on.

"That was the last time I'll kick a ball through the uprights," King said. "It was just how I imagined it the night before. It was perfect."

Neutral fans would say the game was as well. 

It mirrored the last and only times the teams met when Cathedral Catholic won 37-34 in a 2008 State Bowl game in Carson.

Though that game was one was considered one of the greatest in state bowl history, this one might have been even better. It featured 1,114 yards, including 611 by St. Mary's, and 52 first downs (30 by St. Mary's). There were only three turnovers.

It was only the second overtime game in the history of the bowl games. The other was the very first bowl game in 2006, when Oaks Christian defeated Carcinal Newman (Santa Rosa).

"Coming in, we never talked about even winning this game but rather just playing great," Cathedral Catholic coach Sean Doyle said. "I think we played great. I think St. Mary's was great. It was just a great game."

No argument there.

See box score

Dunniway (31 of 46, 411 yards, 4 touchdowns) broke a 14-14 tie with his third touchdown passes, a 10-yarder to Jenkins with 4:52 left in the third quarter. It capped a massive 16-play, 92-yard drive and it seemed to deflate Cathedral Catholic. Though not for long.

St. Mary's increased the lead to 28-14 with 58 seconds left in the third on a 14-yard run by Dusty Frampton, who spun off two tacklers to give the Rams their first two-score lead. The rugged 5-11, 214-pound Frampton finished with 33 carries for 169 yards and a touchdown, but he missed most of the fourth quarter and all of overtime with an ankle injury. 

The two score lead didn't last.

"There wasn't any panic on the sideline," Doyle said. "The guys were good. They'd been down before."

Jack Thompson (5 catches, 71 yards) caught his second touchdown pass from Tate Haynes (18 of 28, 318 yards, 3 scores) this one 8 yards to close to 28-21 with 9:22 left in the game.

After holding on downs, Cathedral Catholic took over with just over six minutes left, and after three first downs, Jordan Stinhilver recorded a sack, forced a fumble and Marquez Vaughn recovered for St. Mary's. That could have been the dagger. But the Rams couldn't put Cathedral Catholic away.

The Dons held once again on downs, and then lightning struck, when Haynes fired a short out to Shawn Poma, who turned it into a 77-yard touchdown catch and run, tying the game at 28-28 with 2:15 left.

Poma, a running back, finished with 156 total yards.

With plenty of time for a game-winning drive, instead it was the Dons who took the lead. Morrison Mirer made a beautiful one-handed interception and returned it 46 yards for a touchdowns, giving Cathedral Catholic its first lead of the game with 1:25 remaining. As good as Mirer's pick was, his return was even better, weaving down his own sideline, breaking tackles and then somehow spinning into the end zone.

"We needed a big play on defense and we got it," Doyle said. "That was special."

So was the next sequence.

Dunniway responded right away with his fourth TD pass of the game, a 70-yard bomb to a wide open Jenkins to tie the game at 35-35 with 45 seconds left, sending the game into overtime. The large St. Mary's contingent went bonkers.

St. Mary's gained seven yards on first down in overtime, but three plays netted two yards. King, pacing on the sideline, was ready for his moment.

"Our guys never give in," King said. "We're brothers. We fight for each other. This feels incredible."

Afterward coach Tony Franks was amazingly upbeat and positive. Many of his kids were understandably heartbroken. It was a game largely in control most of the way.

"The game could have gone either way there at the end and it didn't go our way," he told reporters. "It was an amazing season. It was historical. We never in the history of our school won 14 games in a season and we did that this year."

The teams traded two touchdowns each during an entertaining first half.

Dunniway hooked up with Marcus Aponte on two touchdowns, opening with a 19-yard score to cap an opening 11-play, 64-yard drive making it 7-0.

Cathedral Cathlic tied it on an 18-yard TD run by Poma, but a two-point conversion failed, keeping the local team up. The Rams increased the lead to 14-6 on a 7-yard completion from Dunniway to Aponte with 2:44 left in the first. But Cathedral Catholic once again responded and tied it on a 23-yard pass from Haynes to Thompson and ensuing leaping two-point conversion catch by J.G Heath with 2:41 left in the half. 

St. Mary's, the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 1 champion, reached the Division 1-AA championship game by knocking off Freedom (Oakley), the North Coast Section Open Division runnerup, 49-40 at the regional level.

Cathedral Catholic, the San Diego Section Open Division champion, advanced to the championship game by beating Narbonne (Harbor City), the Los Angeles City Section Division I champion, 35-28 in the regional.

St. Mary's only loss of the regular season was to St. John Bosco, which is playing in the Open Division championship game. Cathedral Catholic was undefeated entering the 1-AA contest.

St. Mary's entered the game ranked No. 4 in the state by the MaxPreps Computer Rankings while Cathedral Catholic was ranked No. 7.

"There's something about the two teams that brings out the best in each other," Doyle said. "That was a good one."

Cathedral Catholic 38, St. Mary's 35

First quarter
SM - Aponte 19 pass from Dunniway (Roman Rubio kick), 9:04
CC - Poma 18 run (run failed), 7:01
SM - Aponte 7 pass from Dunniway (Rubio kick), 2:44

Second quarter
CC - Thompson 23 pass from Haynes (Heath pass from Haynes), 2:09

Third quarter
SM - Jenkins 10 pass from Dunniway (Ru kicks), 4:58
SM - Framton 14 run (Rubio kick), 0:58

Fourth quarter
CC - Thompson 8 pass from Haynes (King kick), 9:22
CC - Poma 77 pass from Haynes (King kick), 2:15
CC - Mirer 54 interception return (King kick), 1:30
SM - Jenkins 70 pass from Dunniway (Rubio kick), 0:45

Overtime
CC - FG, King 20

RUSHING
CC: Poma 14-70, Haynes 13-45, James 6-40, Heath 1-16. SM: Framton 33-169, Villegas 3-17, Dunniway 4-13, Jenkins 2-6.

PASSING
CC: Haynes 18-29-0-318. SM: Dunniway 31-46-1-411.

RECEIVING
CC: Thompson 6-71, Antoine Lee 5-112, Poma 2-86, Brown 2-33. SM: Dewey Cotton 12-123, Marcus Aponte 10-126, Jenkins 5-107, Hampton 3-48.

TACKLES
CC: Mirer 12, Heath 9, Cavellier 9. SM: Ford 8, Sanders 7, Heath 6.

TEAM STATS
First downs: CC 22, SM 30
Rushes/yards: CC 38-185, SM 44-200
Passing yards: CC 318, SM 411
Total yards: CC 503, SM 611
Turnovers: CC 2, SM 1
Penalties: CC 8-69, SM 8-55
Time: CC 18:43, SM 29:17