Monte Vista defeats Clayton Valley for NCS Division II championship

DUBLIN One year one championship For Joe Wingert it s not a bad start to his head coaching tenure at Monte Vista Behind a stout defensive effort Monte Vista defeated Clayton Valley - on Friday night at Dublin High School to win the NCS Division II championship the campaign s first NCS title since beating the Najee Harris-led Antioch Panthers in The Mustangs defense not only forced four turnovers including three straight to start the night but limited the Ugly Eagles star senior running back Jhadis Luckey to yards on carries A year ago by contrast Luckey ran for yards and five touchdowns against Monte Vista for California That s all we talked about all week Wingert explained of Luckey We constantly stressed it in practice Justin Grisham and Grant Maina a pair of Monte Vista juniors had an interception apiece while Grisham recovered one of Monte Vista s two forced fumbles The only touchdown that the Mustangs allowed was on an -yard punt return by Clayton Valley s Andres Watts Offensively senior running back Torin Dunphy totaled two touchdowns and yards on carries while junior wide receiver Caden Boscia threw a -yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Antony Evans on a trick play The kids played so well Wingert revealed We re unfailingly working on causing turnovers and fumbles in practice and we had three early on which was huge to get us out in front They finished all the way through I had a couple bad calls by me in the second half If we cleaned it up we might ve sealed the deal earlier But they played hard so I m really proud of them We re run run run run run to set up the pass and we were just chasing points reported Clayton Valley head coach Nick Tisa noted I m proud of my guys We re here I m privileged for the opportunity I m proud to be head coach here I m grateful for the administration and coach Tim Murphy putting faith in me to get us back right where we re at We re happy with the season Obviously things could ve been better for the competition but we fought hard to the end By the end of the first quarter Clayton Valley had a commanding - lead thanks to a defense that forced three consecutive turnovers to set up three consecutive scores Clayton Valley began the encounter with the ball after Monte Vista won the coin toss and deferred but the Mustangs without delay got the ball with great field position when Grisham intercepted a pass over the middle With the ball on the Ugly Eagles -yard-line Monte Vista needed just four plays to find the end zone as Dunphy scored on a three-yard rush Then d j vu On Clayton Valley s next possession Monte Vista forced a fumble that Grisham recovered and returned to the Ugly Eagles -yard line The Mustangs promptly turned the turnover into more points this time with the help of particular trickery Quarterback Ian Ondricek threw a backwards pass to Boscia who then threw a -yard pass to a wide open Evans for a touchdown that gave Monte Vista a - lead Clayton Valley s third possession ended in a third turnover this one coming on its first play from scrimmage Monte Vista began another possession with more great field position and while the Mustangs weren t able to find the end zone junior Ben Kerrigan knocked down a -yard field goal and expanded their lead to - The Ugly Eagles completely detected something of a rhythm on its fourth possession one that began with Luckey returning the kickoff for yards and pushing the ball into Monte Vista territory for the first time all battle Clayton Valley marched down to Monte Vista s -yard line but Monte Vista forced a turnover on downs on fourth-and-two Following the stop Monte Vista began its fourth possession with seconds remaining in the first quarter That possession wouldn t end until was remaining in the second quarter Monte Vista proceeded to coordinate a grueling methodical -play -yard drive that lasted nine minutes and two seconds one that ended in a one-yard outcome by Dunphy Monte Vista not only expanded its lead to - but ate away valuable encounter time that Clayton Valley couldn t afford to lose Clayton Valley went into the locker room with three points as senior kicker Brady Emry knocked down a -yard field goal as the second quarter expired but Monte Vista owned a commanding - lead going into the break Related Articles Behind Malakai Taufoou s two picks two TDs Serra rallies to beat Los Gatos for CCS Division I title High school football championships Friday s scores Saturday s schedule Basketball revival Is Amador Valley ready to become School of Champions again Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week Emma Tran James Logan volleyball Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week Daniel Santhiapillai Dublin cross country The second half was defined by defense with Maina and Clayton Valley s Dion Lew-Beverley each recording interceptions but Clayton Valley discovered the end zone for the first time with remaining in the fourth when Watts returned a punt for an -yard touchdown to trim Monte Vista s lead to - Watts explosive return was a much-needed jolt for Clayton Valley but it was too little too late for the Ugly Eagles Despite holding Monte Vista scoreless in the second half the -point halftime deficit was too much to overcome We genuinely reported before the championship that points would win the event Tisa disclosed and that s what won the tournament