Yellow Jackets' last-minute score eliminates Warriors from playoffs

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

A last-minute touchdown and two-point conversion gave the Palo Verde High School football team a 29-28 victory over the Fallbrook High School squad in the CIF Division V semifinal game Nov. 19 in Blythe.

With approximately 40 seconds left in the game, Palo Verde junior Markus Macon ran for a 14-yard touchdown. The Yellow Jackets opted for a two-point conversion attempt and Macon ran into the end zone for that score.

"It was a good high school football game," said Fallbrook coach Troy Everhart.

Fallbrook had the fourth seed in the Division V playoffs. Palo Verde was the top-seeded team, so the Warriors traveled to Blythe. "We left as close to 1 (p.m.) as we could. The original plan was to leave at 12:30," Everhart said.

The Warriors had a regular-season game at Brawley and arrived at the school about 30 minutes prior to kickoff. The Warriors stopped for snacks on the trip to Blythe and still arrived about 5:30 p.m. for the game which began at 7 p.m. The team returned to Fallbrook High School after 2 a.m. Saturday morning.

"I couldn't be more proud of the resiliency of the kids," Everhart said.

Macon opened the scoring with a 58 yard touchdown run in the first quarter. "That kid's a really good football player," Everhart said.

Palo Verde senior Alzik Gonzales kicked the extra point to give the Yellow Jackets a 7-0 lead. Fallbrook's ensuing possession ended with a nine-yard touchdown run by sophomore Marquise Washington and a successful conversion kick by sophomore Alan Leon.

In the second quarter, Gonzales ran for a one-yard touchdown and the kick for the extra point gave Palo Verde a 14-7 advantage. Fallbrook's only second-quarter possession culminated in Washington running 44 yards for a touchdown and Leon making the conversion kick.

The Warriors scored on both first-half possessions but on neither second-half possession. "Neither team was very strong on defense," Everhart said.

The defensive highlights included a Fallbrook fumble recovery, a Palo Verde fumble recovery, and the Yellow Jackets stopping the Warriors on fourth down during Fallbrook's only third-quarter possession. Palo Verde's initial second-half possession ended early in the fourth quarter with a fumble in the red zone which was picked up by sophomore George Aguilar and returned 94 yards for a Fallbrook touchdown. Leon kicked the extra point.

The ensuing Palo Verde possession concluded with a two-yard touchdown run by junior Xzavier Bejarano and a conversion kick. Washington then returned the kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown with Leon making the conversion.

The fumble return for a touchdown and the kickoff return for a touchdown meant that the Warriors had only one offensive position in the second half prior to the last-minute attempt to score. "We didn't get off the field on defense and didn't have enough possessions," Everhart said.

Some of that was due to ball control when Palo Verde was on offense. "They owned the game in terms of the clock," Everhart said.

That limited rest for the Fallbrook defensive players. "I thought our defensive coaches did a great job of rotating players to keep them fresh," Everhart said.

Palo Verde head coach Wally Grant was willing to take gambles to extend possession time. "They were willing to go on fourth down," Everhart said.

Neither team punted during the game. Grant also eschewed a one-point conversion kick for the two-point attempt after the touchdown in the final minute of play. "The guy knew he wasn't going to stop us in overtime," Everhart said.

"The guy had a lot of guts," Everhart said. "I would have done the same thing."

Washington's kickoff return allowed the Warriors to cross midfield during Fallbrook's final possession, but a Palo Verde sack cost the Warriors yardage and a fumble was recovered by the Yellow Jackets, who then knelt down to run out the clock.

"Congratulations to them," Everhart said. "They did a great job."

The loss finalized Fallbrook's season record at 5-7. The Warriors were 2-3 during Valley League competition and finished fourth in the league standings.