Mission Viejo beats Don Bosco Prep in overtime

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.

Cameron Baels 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.