Dramatic 70-second drive caps CCS Championship for the San
Benito High School Balers
It was a drive of a lifetime.
With 1:10 remaining on the clock, the No. 1 CCS seed Oak Grove
Eagles had just knotted the Central Coast Section Championship game
against the Balers at 21-21 after a 6-yard touchdown toss and
successful extra-point attempt.
What happened during the next 70 seconds will be a story told in
the San Benito High School football program for years to come. In
fact, it can easily rank as one of the best finishes in CCS
history.
Dramatic 70-second drive caps CCS Championship for the San Benito High School Balers
It was a drive of a lifetime.
With 1:10 remaining on the clock, the No. 1 CCS seed Oak Grove Eagles had just knotted the Central Coast Section Championship game against the Balers at 21-21 after a 6-yard touchdown toss and successful extra-point attempt.
What happened during the next 70 seconds will be a story told in the San Benito High School football program for years to come. In fact, it can easily rank as one of the best finishes in CCS history.
The Balers had the ball at their own 20-yard line and the Eagles appeared to have the momentum going in their favor.
But don’t tell that to Baler quarterback Karson Klauer, who put together the greatest drive in Baler history via his ability to make plays in the pocket, scramble for first downs and pick up the blitz.
Klauer’s athleticism combined with a strong running attack that helped pave way for a seven-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with a first-and-ten touchdown play from the Eagles 31.
With just 17.3 ticks left on the clock, Klauer dropped back in the pocket and was pressured immediately from the blitzing Eagle defense. Twice he was touched and looked as though he would be sacked for a loss or minimal gain as he bolted toward the right side of the Baler offensive line.
And just as it appeared that the Balers would have a second-down-and-ten play with hardly any time on the clock, Klauer caught a glimpse of receiver Artie Esparza breaking toward the left side of the end zone and let the ball go in his direction.
Esparza turned back and made a dramatic, over-the-shoulder catch to seal the victory.
The crowd went wild and every player wearing a red and white uniform on the sidelines leaped in pandemonium.
“When it was in the air I said to myself ‘you better catch this,'” said an elated Esparza after the game. “I was surprised that it got to me because I think Karson was hit in the arm. It just feels great. Last year we lost to these guys by four points. I’m happy for the seniors. When we got the ball back I was thinking about overtime at first. Now we don’t need overtime.”
Even if the game had ended in a tie there would have been no overtime since CCS no longer has overtime periods for its football playoff games. The two schools would have been named co-champions.
“It feels great to win it all. You can’t ask for anything more than that,” said Baler Coach Chris Cameron after watching his squad avenge the title game loss from the previous year to Oak Grove. “If the game had ended in a tie, it would have felt really defeated,” Cameron said.
The win was the first time that the Balers had won CCS since 2000, and the first time San Benito ousted perennial powerhouse Oak Grove for the title-which made things feel extra special.
“We can now say that we beat the top two teams in the section,” said Cameron.
The other team he was talking about was league rival Palma, which lost to Valley Christian the night prior in the CCS Open Division championship game.
Cameron credits his team’s 28-24 regular-season win over Palma on Nov. 10 as the pivotal game that jumpstarted the Balers march to the title.
On Saturday night Tim Lango jumpstarted the Balers win with a 66-yard burst down the left sideline and into the end zone, which made the score 6-0. Lango’s score came in the first minute of play.
Oak Grove later went ahead 7-6 when Jared Ferranti punched across the goal line from a yard out. San Benito went ahead for good, however, when Klauer hooked up with Jason Ramirez on a 25-yard pass play that made its way into the end zone.
Esparza caught the two-point conversion and the Balers led 14-7. The key play of the scoring drive was a 49-yard run by Jeff Weltz, who finished the game with 106 yards on 9 carries.
At the 4:46 mark of the second quarter, San Benito built itself a comfortable halftime lead when Lango crossed the goal line from a yard out for his second touchdown of the night.
Trailing by 14, the defending CCS champs scored two unanswered touchdowns in the second half to tie the game before the Balers magical drive.
San Benito’s road to the championship game started with a 34-10 win over No. 7 seed Alisal. That win was followed by a 39-6 win in the CCS semifinals over No. 3 seed Independence High School before the monumental win over the Eagles.
San Benito finished the season with an overall record of 9-4.
At the end of the game, the elated Balers made their way into the end zone to pose for team pictures. They asked Baler defensive coordinator and the school’s athletic director Tod Thatcher what they should do.
His reply was “Do whatever you want. You’re the CCS champs.”
