Photo by Maddie Harrell
SAN FRANCISCO – The 20th ranked Shasta College football team lost a thrilling 50-43 overtime game to No. 11 City College of San Francisco Saturday in the Golden State Bowl.
The Knights took a 43-35 lead with 3:46 left to play when Tyler Boston scored from 3-yards out. Shasta sacked CCSF quarterback Jacob Cruz on back-to-back plays to force a 4th-and-22 but the Rams converted on a deep pass misplayed by a Knight defensive back. Two plays later Cruz threw a 26-yard touchdown pass and the game-tying 2-point conversion to Traivion Drumme to force overtime.
In the extra period, San Francisco scored on a 2-yard run from Jarmar Julien to lead 50-43. Boston took a swing pass 19 yards to the SFCC 6 on the first play for the Knights but they were unable to find the end zone as Kasey Briggs' fourth down pass intended for Brandon Morris from the 4-yard line was intercepted in the back corner of the end zone to end the game.
"That deflated us a little bit," said Torren Calhoun-Ray, who was named the Golden State Bowl Defensive MVP for his reported six-tackle, four-sack performance. "We all knew we were one play away from winning the game. I guess I thought we had it in the bag but it didn't work out that way."
Shasta's 43 points was a season-high, leaning heavily on Boston, the freshman running back, who ran 27 times for 105 yards and caught six passes for 128 yards.
The Knights gave up two passing touchdowns early to trail 14-3 after the opening quarter. Shasta scored three times in the second as freshman receiver James Lee took a sweep for a 5-yard touchdown. Boston later took a short swing pass and turned it into a 48-yard touchdown from Briggs, who added a 7-yard touchdown run to capitalize on a Knights' blocked punt to lead 23-20 at halftime.
Shasta scored coming out of the half with a 9-play drive as Boston ran it in from 5-yards out for a 30-21 lead. Rashard Budd and Calhoun-Ray sacked Cruz on consecutive plays to give the Knights all the momentum but Matthew Ramirez's 37-yard field goal was blocked and San Francisco went on run.
Cruz threw a 17-yard touchdown and then recovered a Shasta fumble on the ensuing kickoff. The Rams scored on that drive with Julien running it in from 2-yards out to lead 35-30 early in the fourth.
Shasta marched on an 11-play drive capped by Boston's 3-yard plunge to lead by one. Cole Parker, who had 1.5 sacks on the day, tipped a pass in the air and Budd came down with the interception. Boston finished the possession by crossing the goal line on a 2-yard run to lead 43-35 with 3:46 left.
But Shasta allowed the Rams to complete the desperation fourth down throw to supply life and they scored to tie it up. In the extra period, two defensive penalties helped the Rams score – a personal foul on 2nd-and-27 followed by a defensive pass interference in the end zone. That set Julien up for a 2-yard run to take a 50-43 lead.
Boston's big gain to the SFCC 6 gave the Knights four chances inside the 10 to tie up the game. But Shasta, which threw on all five overtime plays, couldn't match the score with Briggs' pass falling into the hands of the opposition.
"To be in that situation in overtime against a historical powerhouse team on the road speaks volumes to where our program is and how hard our players play," Shasta College head coach Bryon Hamilton said. "It's disappointing to lose a game that was within our grasp a couple of times but the big picture is everyone knows Shasta College can be mentioned with the better programs."
Shasta recorded a season-high eight sacks in the game. Parker finished with nine tackles, Detrius Kelsall had eight tackles and 1.5 sacks, Budd had two sacks and a five tackles and Garrison Roach added an interception to go with seven tackles.
Lee ran six times for 55 yards and caught two balls for 11 yards while Jusiah Gabel caught two passes for 69 yards. Briggs was 12-of-17 passing for 218 yards with one touchdown, one interception and ran 14 times for 14 yards with a score.
San Francisco's Cruz was named the Bowl Game Overall MVP after completing 23-of-33 passes for 343 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Julien was named Offensive MVP, finishing with 16 carries for 105 yards and three scores, including the go-ahead touchdown in overtime. Willis caught eight passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns and Kenden Robinson Jr. hauled in 10 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.