And when Homestead quarterback Craig Maynard took a knee to run out the final seconds of play, it turned out to be true.

Homestead outlasted Oak Grove 48-34 on Nov. 23 at Fremont's Diesner Field to advance to the second round of the CCS playoffs. The Mustangs, 9-2 for the year, will face No. 1 Piedmont Hills, 11-0, in the Division 2 semifinals on Nov. 30, 7 p.m., at Wilcox.

"It was a great win for us," said Homestead coach Charlie Bostic after the victory. "Our kids came out to play tonight."

"My hat's off to this team," he added. "I'm real proud of them."

And proud he should be. The Mustangs set the tone for the night when they took the opening kickoff and drove the ball 67 yards on 13 plays for a first-quarter touchdown. From there the scoring went back and forth until the Mustangs scored three touchdowns in a row late in the game to take control.

But it was that first drive that really set the tempo and seemed to provide the Mustangs with the confidence they needed to play with the Eagles. Bostic credits his offensive front for making that possible.

"Our offensive line came and did it," said the coach. "They haven't gotten a lot of respect or a lot of publicity because of our talented backs. But they're the key to everything."

Leading the charge up front were tackles Mike VanOrden and Chris McKim, guards Tyler Jordan and Keith Moll, center Greg Ariza and tight ends Anthony Morales and Jay Smith.

"And this was the first time in three weeks that we had all the starters together in the O line," added Bostic.

Homestead backs followed the blocking of the men up front to run up 390 yards of total offense, most of it on 348 yards rushing.

Breakaway threat Will Faules led that attack with 19 carries for 183 yards and four touchdowns, including an electrifying 58-yard TD run.

Ramont Thomas supported with nine carries for 98 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown run, and Brian McGee added 41 yards on seven tries.

Maynard pitched in with 11 carries for 26 yards and a touchdown, and he also completed four of eight passes for 42 yards, including a touchdown pass to super wide receiver Garren Strong.

"We're very fortunate to have those guys," said Bostic of his club's "skill position" players. "A play goes for 80 yards, and it makes us coaches look like geniuses," he added with a grin.

Oak Grove had a big night offensively, running up 436 yards of total offense, but the Homestead defense managed to stop the Eagles when it had to.

Leading the charge on the defensive side of the football was senior strong safety Richard Scott, who was all over the field making 16 tackles. He also intercepted a pass and batted away another.

Steve Conti had a big night with nine tackles, including three quarterback sacks. Thomas and Morales were other tackling leaders.

Homestead came right out driving in the Saturday night game. A 24-yard run by Faules, a 20-yard dash by McGee and a 10-yard toss from Maynard to Strong took the Mustangs deep into Oak Grove territory.

Maynard scrambled nine yards to the Oak Grove 3-yard line; then, on a big third and one, Faules broke a tackle in the backfield and with great second effort, picked up a first down at the one.

Maynard tried unsuccessfully to sneak it in three times, but Faules finally scored on a 2-yard run and Eric Dodge converted to make it 7-0 with 5:47 left in the first quarter.

The Homestead defense stopped the Eagles to force a punt, but Oak Grove got the ball back quickly on an interception, then scored a game-tying touchdown.

The Eagles went up 13-7 with another score early in the second period, but Homestead answered back on a drive that was all Faules and Thomas. Faules returned the kickoff 18 yards to the Homestead 36; then Thomas had runs of 20 and seven yards before Faules went 23, 11 and the final three for the touchdown. Dodge converted again, and the Mustangs held a slim 14-13 lead.

Faules scored again on a 30-yard run, picking up a key downfield block from Strong, and Dodge converted to up the Homestead lead to 21-13, but the Eagles tied it with a touchdown and 2-point conversion.

But Maynard tossed 13 yards to McGee, threw 15 yards to Thomas and ran for 11 yards before hitting a leaping Strong with a 4-yard TD toss in the right corner of the end zone with 34 seconds left in the half. Dodge's kick gave the Mustangs a 28-21 lead at intermission.

The Eagles scored early in the second half, but Homestead answered back on a 48-yard TD run by Thomas to lead 34-27.

The turning point in the game came later in the third quarter, when Christopher Murphy tried to make an over-the-shoulder catch on a booming 41-yard punt by Chad Talley. His momentum took him back inside the Oak Grove 5-yard line, and Faules was there to hit him, forcing a fumble. Jordan appeared to scoop up the ball and run it in for a Homestead touchdown, but the officials ruled the ball dead at the 1-yard line. A couple of plays later, Maynard scored to make it 40-27.

A 58-yard touchdown run by Faules and a 2-point toss from Maynard to Strong gave the Mustangs a commanding 48-27 lead with 11:22 left to play.

Oak Grove managed one final TD and had the ball two times after that but didn't threaten again.

Jeff Tucker, Eddie Sumpter and Sean Carey were in on five tackles each for Homestead in the win. Jordan finished with four tackles, including two sacks, and he had the fumble recovery. Maynard, Mike Madrigalli, Robert Scott, Artur Grigorian, Moll, Ariza, McGee and Strong were also in on tackles. Morales and Madrigalli joined Conti and Jordan by getting in on quarterback sacks.