St. Ignatius turns the table on Sacred Heart Cathedral at AT&T Park

SAN FRANCISCO - It doesn't make much sense that a kid named Danny O'Malley did in the Irish.

It was supposed to be the other way around.

But that's what kind of season it's been for St. Ignatius' (San Francisco, Calif.) football team. A turnaround season was finished off with a turnaround result against its arch rival keyed by a turnaround play. 

O'Malley, an undersized and understated junior linebacker, picked up a fumble at midfield and just ran "for the open stands" at AT&T Park.

His touchdown return with 4 minutes, 18 seconds left in the third quarter broke 14-14 tie and proved to be the winning score in a 21-14 win over rival Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) in the Central Coast Section Division III finals.

It came after Sacred Heart Cathedral quarterback Jack Harrington, in shot-gun formation, wasn't prepared for a snap that bounced off his shoulder pad and helmet. The ball bounced around a couple times before O'Malley gathered it up and was escorted by teammates down the middle of AT&T park.

He wasn't touched as he galloped into the end zone, his first score in a varsity uniform. Nice timing for the ultimate team guy. When asked to described the sequence he just kept thanking and crediting his teammates.

"I can't really explain it," said an overwhelmed O'Malley. "I couldn't even dream it. I still can't fathom it happened."

Before approximately 12,000 fans on a crisp, still evening, O'Malley's touchdown, plus a punishing running game from senior fullback Dom Truoccolo (36 carries, 179 yards, one touchdown) and a bruising defense that gave up just nine first downs and 221 yards, led St. Ignatius to its second CCS title even though it entered the tournament with a hard-to-look-at 3-6-1 record.

The Wildcats (6-6-1) caught fire in the playoffs by utilizing a great balanced attack, led by quarterback Jack Stinn, who entered the game with almost 2,600 passing yards.

On Saturday, however, he threw just six passes and didn't complete one.

St. Ignatius turned around a 38-14 loss to Sacred Heart Cathedral during the regular season. But this was the one that counted, the first time in the storied 118-year rivalry between the two teams they played for a championship.

"It's all surreal," Truoccolo said. "We're so lucky to play here at AT&T. We're so lucky to make the playoffs. We just hung tough and the last three weeks have just been magical."

Truoccolo carried the ball 13 of 14 plays on St. Ignatius first possession that eventually ended on downs and Sacred Heart (7-6) took advantage immediately.

Harrington fired a beautiful 79-yard touchdown bomb to Matt Hewitson to give the Irish a 7-0 lead. St. Ignatius didn't waver from its game and Truoccolo capped a 58-yard drive with a 5-yard TD to tie the game at 7-7 early in the second quarter.

Valentino Miles (16 carries, 80 yards) finished off 40-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown to give Sacred Heart Cathedral a 14-7 lead just before halftime.

A fake punt – it wasn't planned – fell a yard short on the Irish's first possession of the second half and St. Ignatius took advantage of a 38 yard field with a short drive a 1-yard TD sneak by Stinn to tie it before O'Malley's heroics.

"They took care of their opportunities and we didn't," Sacred Heart coach John Lee. "(O'Malley's) touchdown sort of took the wind out of our sails and then we came up short just too many times."

It was St. Ignatius who continued to come up short during the regular season, losing three games by eight total points against Bay Area ranked teams. In a 22-22 tie with another ranked team, Mitty, the Wildcats missed two PATs.

They missed an opportunity on their first drive and Sacred Heart Cathedral immediately capitalized on the Harrington-to-Hewitson bomb.

But St. Ignatius showed a great chin. It never was knocked down or certainly out. And Saturday, the Wildcats and head coach John Regalia stuck to his game plan to pound Truoccolo and it all paid off.

"We rode him because who he is. ... a leader, the hardest working kid on the team," Regalia said.

"I'm really happy for this group. They stayed with their commitment all year. This team showed great spirit. They showed great resolve. They'd been through a lot and it all paid off tonight and through the playoffs."

St. Ignatius 21, Sacred Heart Cathedral 14
St. Ignatius                     0  7  14  0  -  21
Sacred Heart Cathedral 7  7    0  0  -  14

First quarter
SHC - Matt Hewitson 79 pass from Jack Harrington (Harrington kick), 6:09

Second quarter
SI - Dom Truoccolo 5 run (Michael Capitola kick), 10:58
SHC - Valentino Miles 1 run (Harrington kick), 1:22

Third quarter
SI - Jack Stinn 1 run (Capitolo kick), 6:25
SI - Dan O'Malley 50 fumble return (Capitolo kick), 4:18

Team statistics
First downs: SI 21, SHC 14
Rushes-yards: SI 54-250, SHC 24-64
Passes: SI 0-6-1-0, SHC 9-19-3-157
Total yards: SI 250, SHC 221
Turnovers: SI 1, SHC 4
Penalties: SI 3-20, SHC 6-30
Sacks: SI 3, SHC 0
Possession: SI 28:59, SHC 19:01

Individual statistics
RUSHING
SI: Dom Truoccolo 36-178, Albert Waters 13-65, Jack Stinn 3-9, team 2-(-2). SHC: Valentino Miles 16-80, Daniel Lalor 1-7, Harrington 7-(-23).

PASSING
SI: Stinn 0-6-1-0. SHC: Harrington 9-19-3-157. 

RECEIVING
SI: none. SHC: Miles 4-32, Hewitson 2-95, Gomes 2-18, Parker 1-12.

TACKLES
SI: Stu Donlon 6, Charles Goldens 5.5, Danny O'Malley 4.5, Jack Hazelhofer 4.0. SHC: Gino Ragusa 7.5, Jeivon Parker 7, Kelvin Sanders 6.5, Mark Singh 6.

Much thanks to Sacred Heart Cathedral statistician Tom Stillman.

The St. Ignatius crowd filled up almost all the temporary bleachers behind the Wildcats' sideline.

Photo by David Stephenson

Here's eight takes from AT&T

1. Fan friendly.

The first high school football game at AT&T Park was indeed a spectacle. Bright. Vibrant. Crisp. Alive. A true treasured moment for San Francisco prep sports and this storied rivalry that goes back 118 years.

2. Fan payback.

We’re sure Larry Baer and company will consider more prep football events in the future due to good general behavior among 12,000 fans. The rivalry is supposed to be bitter and heated, but it felt more like a big family reunion. The game actually started four minutes early and the crowd must have thought this was Dodger Stadium. Very late arriving. At kickoff, I’d say 5 to 6,000 were in the stands. By start of second quarter, 10,000 had arrived and by halftime – it was a fast game – up to the estimated totals of 12,000. The St. Ignatius faithful, which took up about 80 percent of the temporary bleachers, about 5,000 fans, stood the entire game. Impressive.

3. One scare.

A near catastrophe after the game occurred when St. Ignatius players sprinted to its rooting section in the temporary bleachers behind the SI bench. There’s about an eight-foot drop from the stands to the field. A flimsy green railing gave way and several students fell in a heap on to the players and/or field. Two students and one player were treated with very minor injures. All walked away from the incident in good spirits, but it was a little scary and it could have been disastrous. That will surely be remedied if/when another prep game is played. See photos at SanFranPreps.com

4. St. Ignatius does not waver.

St. Ignatius coach John Regalia strayed from the diverse offense that the Wildcats have shown all year and instead rode the strong legs of 5-foot-10, 210-pound Dom Truoccolo, who carried the ball not only a remarkable 36 times in the game, but 13 of 14 plays on the team’s opening drive. “We rode him because of who he is,” Regalia said. Even though the opening drive didn’t pay off – Sacred Heart Cathedral held on downs then took a quick 7-0 lead on an absolutely beautiful 80-yard bomb from Jack Harrington to Matt Hewitson – Regalia and the Wildcats kept feeding Truoccolo. It was symbolic of the entire season really. St. Ignatius lost three brutal games late during the season – by a total of eight points – and it tied a game in which it missed two PATS. But Regalia just kept the ship sailing toward its destination. He never panicked. There were no big highs or lows. And eventually the Wildcats found their way and showed they were one of the top 15 teams in the Bay Area despite a so-so 6-6-1 record.

5. Classy in defeat.

Opposite to the straight-ahead, black-and-white St. Ignatius approach is Sacred Heart Cathedral’s John Lee, a colorful quote, vivacious and fun. He was hugging kids and telling them how proud he was even though his Irish didn’t play very well. They had four turnovers. Had a few costly penalties. “Congratulations to SI,” he said. Lee definitely saw the forest through the trees in this one. There truly were no losers. “It really doesn’t get any better than this,” he said. “This was a night for San Francisco.”

6. Team guy.

The game’s hero – Danny O’Malley – was asked to describe the sequence of events on his game-winning fumble recovery, return and 50-yard touchdown. Instead he went on for a minute about his teammates, that they make him a better player, a better person, that it was all for them and about them. “But Danny, the play?” After catching his breath and thoughts, he arrived at this: “I can’t really explain it. … I couldn’t even dream it. … I still can’t fathom it happened.” And that’s folks, why we love high school sports. Genuine. Humble. Pure.

7. Who would have guessed?

That St. Ignatius would prevail despite not completing a single pass. Actually Jack Stinn, another selfless sort, did complete one to Sacred Heart Cathedral’s Viliami Uikilifi. He threw just six passes. This after 307 attempts in the first 12 games for nearly 2,600 yards and 18 touchdowns.

8. Deeefense.

Though Truoccolo’s workload and O’Malley’s touchdown stole the headline, the difference between this and Sacred Heart Cathedral’s 38-14 regular-season victory was St. Ignatius’ defense. The Wildcats recorded three sacks and intercepted three passes – one each by David Bornstein, Albert Waters and Joey Miller – and held Valentino Miles to 80 yards on 16 carries. The first time Miles exploded for 316 yards and three touchdowns. “That was then and this is now,” Truoccolo said. “And this feels unbelievable.”