Wildcats pull out a victory on last play of the game, 35-32
The Paloma Valley Wildcats celebrate a big victory over Vista del Lago. (Staff photos) By Doug Spoon, Editor It’s safe to say that, in a v...
By Doug Spoon, Editor
It’s safe to say that, in a very wild way, the Paloma Valley Wildcats grew up as a team Friday night.
It’s no surprise when senior quarterback Brady Nelson has a good game. In this one, he completed 24 of 40 passes for 301 yards and 4 touchdowns, then ran for 82 yards and the team’s other score. But to survive a back-and-forth battle to win on the last play of the game … well, that doesn’t happen every day.
Driving 80 yards in the final 49 seconds, Nelson passed 12 yards to wide receiver Jefferey Blalock for a touchdown as time expired, putting the “wild” in the Wildcats’ 35-32 victory at Vista del Lago High.
In a game in which there were six lead changes – four in the fourth quarter alone – Paloma Valley (5-3) took a 29-26 lead with 1:28 remaining on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Nelson to Blalock, who was all alone in the back of the end zone. But things were far from over.
Starting from their own 32 after the kickoff, the Ravens (5-2) quickly moved to the Paloma Valley 13, where quarterback Larry Joyce passed to Cameon Sims for a TD with 49.3 seconds left. When the PAT kick failed, the Wildcats were still within a field goal of the Ravens, trailing 32-29 heading into the next kickoff.
But coach Juan Merida said he never even considered a game-tying field goal as Nelson drove the Wildcats into Vista del Lago territory with pinpoint passing.
“Not at all," Merida said after the game. “There was no way we were going to kick a field goal. We were going for it.”
Starting from his own 20-yard line after the kickoff went into the end zone, Nelson passed 15 yards to Arthur Clemons, then 20 yards to Jacob Villagomez. A 3-yard pass to Blalock took the ball to the Ravens 42, where the Wildcats called their final timeout. Then Nelson connected again with Blalock for a 30-yard gain to the 12, where the officials stopped the clock to spot the ball with about 7 seconds left.
Confusion reigned briefly when the timekeeper incorrectly started the clock and ran off the final seconds. When the horn sounded, the Ravens celebrated as the Wildcats coaching staff screamed in protest. The referee called the Ravens back onto the field, however, and reset the clock to 7 seconds, giving Paloma Valley one last play.
“I saw that the safety moved over, so I told coach Merida about it and once he saw it, he called the play we wanted," Nelson said. "I knew Jefferey was open to get the ball.”
Blalock got open to make a leaping catch in the end zone, sending the Wildcats racing to their sideline to celebrate while the Ravens protested. The call stood, however, the Paloma Valley had the victory.
“Before it happened I was a little nervous but I knew I had to execute for my team,” said Blalock, who caught 6 passes for 100 yards and 3 touchdowns. “Brady put a good ball right there and we executed.
“We kept our energy up, even though we made some mistakes. Coach just kept telling us, ‘next play, next play.’ We executed so well on that last series.”
An exhausted Merida couldn’t say enough about his team after the game.
“We definitely grew up and matured tonight,” he said. “They should realize that we’re never out of the game. A lot of teams would’ve hung their heads when we went down with 49 seconds to go. Just the energy and the response and the belief from the offense that we’re going to go down and do this … that made the difference.”
Nelson admitted being a bit nervous after Joyce’s TD pass to Sims in the final minute, but he certainly didn’t show any nerves on the final drive.
“It’s definitely an eye opener for us to see how much potential we really have,” he said. “We have a great team and we’re gonna do good things this year.”
“How about our quarterback, just sitting back there and delivering dimes?” Merida said. “He actually called that last play. He wanted that tag, he wanted a specific route, and I trusted him and he delivered.”
Even on his 65-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, Nelson played it to perfection.
“It was a designed read, a power read,” Merida said. “He’s either gonna hand it off or start running, and he took off. He said, ‘Coach, I wasn’t going to be caught.’”
After a scoreless first quarter, Paloma took a 7-0 lead on Nelson’s 36-yard touchdown pass to Blalock. Vista del Lago scored on the next possession to tie the game at 7, but it took the Wildcats only three plays on their next drive to make it 14-7 on a 21-yard TD pass from Nelson to Villagomez. Again the Ravens responded, tying the score at 14 on a 40-yard pass from Joyce to Fabian Balonos.
That’s the way the score stayed until the third quarter, when the Ravens took the lead on a 23-yard pass from Joyce to Sims. The PAT kick failed, however, meaning Paloma Valley took a 21-20 lead when Nelson ran for a score and Orlando Gonzalez kicked the PAT.
Little did anyone know then that the fun was just beginning.
Another key figure for the Wildcats offense was senior running back Keegan Kelley, who carried 19 times for 73 yards.
Paloma Valley has a bye next week before returning to Sunbelt League action on Oct. 19 at Hemet.
Wildcats quarterback Brady Nelson takes advantage of blocks and moves the ball forward.
Keegan Kelley bulls his way through traffic in the first half Friday night.
Damian Ramirez turns the corner to pick up yardage in the second half.
