Almaden Resident
Sports
Leland pulls off thrilling comeback win over Alisal in football playoffs
By Kevin Sparrer
It was without a doubt the greatest comeback in the history of high school football--or at least it had to be up there in the top 10.
The Leland Chargers were trailing Alisal 28-7 at the end of the first half, and when the Trojans scored again to make it 34-7 the Chargers could have folded. They could have gone home happy with their undefeated season in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League and they're participation in the Central Coast Section playoffs. But they didn't.
Instead, Leland fought back with a vengeance. Not only were the Chargers able to tie the game 34-34 with six seconds left on the clock, they were able to beat Alisal 47-41 in overtime, marking the first postseason win for Leland in quite a few seasons.
"I told the kids during the week I believed in them," said Leland head coach Jason Tenner. "At halftime I told them nothing had changed. We came out in the second half with fire, intensity and emotion. I don't know what the first half was, but it wasn't Leland football."
When it comes to high school football, one of the most upsetting things is the ability to complete a game in a tie, but during the postseason ties are not an option. Leland and Alisal took part in a tiebreaker after 68 points had been scored.
Each team took the ball at the 10-yard-line and had four plays and one timeout to score points. Possession was decided by one extremely important flip of a coin.
The Chargers won the coin toss, elected to go first and immediately gave the ball to senior running back Adam Ondi, who picked up five yards on two carries. After an incomplete pass, the Chargers faced a huge fourth down. But rather than kick a field goal, the Chargers went for it.
Junior quarterback Ricky Battipede threw the ball deep in the corner where only senior receiver Chris Powell could catch it and he came down with the go-ahead touchdown to make the score 41-34 after Battipede kicked the extra point.
Alisal answered right back, handing the ball to its massive fullback who powered his way through the middle on two plays to tie the game after the successful extra point.
Alisal got the ball next, but after an errant pass, the Trojans were flagged for holding and pushed back to the 20-yard-line. After two incomplete passes and a failed field goal attempt, the Chargers got the ball back.
Senior Lance Gemette took a sweep around the right side and forced his way through a large number of Alisal defenders for the winning touchdown.
"I am so proud of my guys," said Tenner. "The kids called the touchdown play at the end. They believed it would work, it did and now we are going to the semi's."
With the win, the Chargers advance to the semifinals in the CCS Large School Division playoffs. Leland, now 9-2 for the year, will face Piedmont Hills (6-5) on Nov. 25, 7 p.m., at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. The powerhouse Pirates upset No. 1 seed San Benito 21-14 in the first round of the playoffs.
Leland earned its spot in the semi's with the brilliant win over Alisal last weekend. The Chargers Leland trailed 34-27 with 3:29 left to play when they forced the Trojans to attempt a field goal from 37 yards out. The attempt failed and Leland took over on its own 20.
It took the Chargers 17 plays and 3:27 of the clock to complete the 80-yard drive. Thanks to a few of passes from Battipede, and catches by Powell, Gemette and Ondi, Leland was able to complete the drive, Battipede capped the march with a 4-yard TD toss to Ondi, and Battipede's extra point kick tied the game. Alisal had just 0:00.1 left on the clock after the kick-off, and when the Trojans' pass fell incomplete, the game headed to overtime.
"Alisal is a great program," said Tenner. "Our hats are off to them."
Ondi was the majority of the offense for the Chargers. He carried 23 times for 152 yards, including five runs of over 10 yards.
Gemette ran 10 times for 34 yards and cored three of the Leland touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 26 yards.
Battipede completed 9 of 15 passes for 75 yards and three touchdowns behind a strong line that protected him well throughout the game. Manning the line were tackles Roland Li and Amir Tadros, guards Marven Masihi and David Yates and center Daniel Schroeder at center.
"These kids are wild, crazy and passionate," said Tenner. "Friday we had a flawless practice. We've worked on throwing the ball, and today Battipede threw the ball and put it us position to make the plays."
Powell caught three passes from Battipede for 34 yards and one score and also caught the back end of a halfback pass from senior Anthony Sunseri for 48 yards.
Another large part of the goal line offense was the blocking back that blasted holes open for the running backs. Junior Bryan Jones played a few snaps as a fullback and ran his way threw defensive linemen and linebackers in order to break open some huge holes for Gemette and Ondi.
