Video: Highlight vs. San Clemente High
See La Habra's game-winning touchdown pass.Lightning struck twice – in a good way – for the football team at
La Habra (Calif.), leaving another Southern Section squad heartbroken.
Dynamic, yet poised La Habra quarterback
Eric Barriere bought time, rolled right and threw a perfect 27-yard pass in the back right corner of the end zone to a streaking and sliding
Prince Ross on the final play of the game, finishing off a truly remarkable 39-36 Southern Section Southwest Division championship victory over
San Clemente Friday night at Cerritos College.
On Sept. 18, Barriere, a 6-foot, 185-pound senior, had completed an even more improbable 44-yard across-the-field bomb to
Eric Lancaster-garcia on the final play to beat Los Alamitos 37-32.
But that was a regular-season game. This was for a championship, La Habra's seventh section crown. They enter the Southern California regional 13-1.
La Habra quarterback Eric Barriere was nearly perfect Friday, completing 15 of 16 for 287 yards and four touchdowns. The last one was unforgettable.
File photo by Ted Aguirre
Barriere, who accounted for nearly 400 yards and five touchdowns, told Fox Sports after the game: "I just threw it up and Prince made an amazing catch. He ran from the left to the right hash mark. … To be part of two Hail Mary plays in one season is crazy. Especially in a championship…it's just amazing. It's unbelievable."
San Clemente (11-3), looking for its first section title, seemed to have pulled out its own improbable win, fighting back from a 33-21 deficit midway through the fourth quarter behind another dynamic quarterback, 6-3, 200-pound junior
Jack Sears.
Sears, who rushed 16 times for 141 yards and threw for 100, led his team on both long TD marches, the second an 84-yarder capped by a 4-yard pass to
Brandon Reaves with 20 seconds remaining, giving San Clemente a 36-33 lead. He had earlier scored on a 27-yard run, breaking several tackles in the process.
But a kickoff return to midfield, plus a critical personal foul call put the ball at the San Clemente 37 with 11 seconds left. A 10-yard completion set up one last play.
Jack Sears, San Clemente
File photo by Rich Lawce
Rather than go for a 44-yard field goal to tie, coach Frank Mazzotta knew Barriere could work magic. He'd seen it before. His quarterback stepped up in the pocket, rolled right and floated a pass perfectly to a spot where only Ross could catch it. There were a half-dozen bodies in the area.
Ross, a 5-11, 150-pound junior, somehow barely got his knees down i bounds while making the catch. It was close. As expected, the La Habra faithful and sideline exploded. San Clemente fans, rejoicing moments earlier, were in disbelief.
"I had to catch it," Ross said. "And I had to get me knees down. I really wasn't thinking about anything else but catching the ball."
Ross' route had taken him to the left corner of the end zone, but while Barriere scrambled right, the diminutive receiver sprinted to that side of the field. Afterward, he had to sprint away from crazed and joyous teammates.
"I'm too small, I didn't want to get trampled," Ross said.
The game featured more than 900 yards, almost evenly divided: La Habra had 473 and San Clemente 469. It was the second-straight season San Clemente lost in the finals.
Barriere was nearly perfect, completing 15 of 16 passes for 287 yards and four scores. He rushed 12 times for 97 more yards and another TD.
"It took our best because San Clemente is a great team and Jack Sears is a great player," Barriere said. "We just had to stay calm and keep executing, and that's what we did."
