By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
Just call it “The Immaculate Deflection.”
How else would you describe the incredible play in the final minute of Saturday’s matchup between a pair of Catholic schools – host Marin Catholic of Northern California and Notre Dame Prep from Scottsdale, Ariz.
Trailing 13-12 with 1 minute, 15 seconds left on the clock, Notre Dame Prep coach Scott Bemis was facing a fourth and 6 situation from the Marin Catholic 41. Bemis had already used up a trick play on the preceding down when a potential double pass – designed to look like a fumbled backwards pass – was ruled incomplete. So instead, Bemis called a deep crossing route with his two receivers.
Quarterback Shane Wolfe lofted a pass to receiver Andy Wilder on an underneath pattern, but Wilder was hit by a Marin Catholic defender as he reached up to make the catch and the ball looked like it would fall harmlessly incomplete. Just as Marin Catholic fans were breathing a sigh of relief, however, Saints receiver Taylor Malenfant caught the deflection and raced down the sideline to the Wildcat 7-yard line.
“Based on their defense, we felt we could get single coverage and get one of the receivers over the top and one underneath,” said Bemis. “Both receivers were exactly where they were supposed to be, but we don’t exactly practice the play that way.”
Bemis was able to run three plays and wind the clock down to 35 seconds when he brought on Wilder for the game-winning 25-yard field goal. Wilder’s kick was true and Notre Dame Prep was able to hold on for the 15-13 victory.
The Saints have experienced tremendous success since the school opened in 2002. The Saints won the Arizona 4A Div. 2 state championship last year with a 13-1 record including a 35-21 win over Marin Catholic. Despite losing state MVP quarterback Sean Renfree to graduation, the Saints were off to a 6-0 start entering Saturday’s game in Kentfield, including four wins by 42 or more points. The Wildcats, meanwhile, entered the game with a 4-1 mark, including three straight wins.
“The guys were resilient,” said Bemis about his team’s ability to win in the final seconds. “They had a lot to overcome. We had a lot of penalties and we had some guys get injured, but they fought through it.”
Penalties were a major hindrance for the defending Arizona 4A champions. The Saints were flagged for 137 yards in penalties on the day, mostly for holding on offense and offsides on defense.
The Saints also played without running back Patrick Foley, who was an all-region selection last year and the 4A Div. 2 100-meter sprint champion in track. Foley sat out the game with an injury, meaning more carries for workhorse running back Andrew Stutz.
“Usually we are a two-headed monster with Patrick and Andrew,” said Bemis. “We call them Thunder and Lightning. But without Patrick, it was just Thunder.”
Stutz carried 36 times for 234 yards and both of Notre Dame Prep’s first-half touchdowns on runs of 4 and 6 yards. He did most of the damage in the second half, gaining 154 yards on 23 carries.
“We saw some things in the first half that let us know we might be able to run the ball with Andrew quite a bit in the second half,” said Bemis.
However despite Stutz’s second-half success, the host Wildcats were able to take control of the game with a pair of big plays.
Trailing 12-0 at the break, Marin Catholic got two breaks early in the second half when Jacob Siefert pounced on a pair of Saint fumbles. One stopped Notre Dame Prep’s opening drive of the second half at the Marin Catholic 34. The other recovery set up the Wildcats’ first touchdown of the game.
With the ball at the Notre Dame Prep 43, Wildcat coach Ken Peralta called a pass to receiver Dino Ghilotti. Earlier in the quarter, Ghilotti had been overthrown on a pair of pass plays, leaving a dejected Ghiloti to walk slowly to the sidelines. An assistant coach exhorted Ghiloti to “be patient, it will be there.”
This time the ball was there. Ghilotti caught the square out and slipped past the defender for a 43-yard touchdown. Joseph Wiessler’s extra point cut the Saints’ lead to 12-7 with 6:19 left in the third quarter.
The Wildcats got the ball back again just before the end of the third quarter thanks to three big plays by the secondary on deep passes by the Saints. Marin Catholic safety Nico Dumont provided the big hit on third down, tackling the Notre Dame Prep receiver hard on third down and preventing a catch.
Dumont then provided the biggest play of the day for the Wildcats. Faced with a third down at their own 21, the Wildcats ran a running play over the left side. Although it initially looked like he might be stopped for no gain, Dumont broke a couple of tackles at the line of scrimmage, broke free in the secondary and raced 79 yards to the end zone.
Dumont finished with 14 carries for 112 yards on the day, but the long touchdown run was his last play of the game. The unusually warm playing conditions and the long run combined to sideline Dumont with exhaustion.
“He’ll be ready to go next week,” said Peralta. “But he got overheated and we didn’t want to take any chances.”
The Wildcats continued to play well in Dumont’s absence, forcing a Notre Dame punt and then driving into Saints territory midway through the final quarter. Forced to punt, however, the kick went just two yards and Notre Dame Prep took over on its own 33. Nine plays later, Wolfe completed the deflected pass to Malenfant that set up the winning field goal.
“I’m really proud of the way our guys played,” said Peralta. “Those guys are state champions and they will probably be state champs again this year. If the ball gets tipped this way instead of that way, we win the game.”
