HomeSportsTwo Minute Warning Signals Titans’ Fate

Two Minute Warning Signals Titans’ Fate

EMPTIED OUT: Senior Charlie Daves comes to grips with the finality of last Friday night’s CIF Division 9 quarterfinal playoff game at North High School in Torrance. The Saxons scored with seven seconds left on the clock to steal a 33-28 win and advance. Raymond Quan Photo

Those cheeky enough to brave cross-town traffic on the Friday of a three-day weekend to venture to Torrance for the CIF Division 9 quarterfinal football game between San Marino and North High Schools were rewarded with one of the most entertaining matchups of this or any year.

Unfortunately for the Titans, rules require that both teams play the entire 48 minutes of all games. Because if it were just 45:53, San Marino would be preparing for Brea Olinda and Friday’s semifinal as North scored with seven seconds on the clock to steal a 33-28 victory.

“Disappointing,” is all head Coach Mike Hobbie could muster seventy-two hours after last Friday’s contest had ended. “When you lose, you lose because of how you played, not necessarily how the other team played. We had too many execution issues on both sides of the ball to beat a good team and they are a good team.”

Each team scored a touchdown on its first offensive possession, both coming on long runs by North’s Stephen Bradford and San Marino’s Beau Hobbie.

But North seemed intent on bottling up Hobbie, the Titans’ career rushing leader, and San Marino’s only other score of the first half came on an 80-yard touchdown pass from junior backup quarterback Connor Short to senior wide receiver, Wheeler Smith.

On the other side of the coin, the Saxons continue to run through the Titan defense. However, North Torrance made many mistakes that kept them off the board, and they only scored one more touchdown in the first half.

Those miscues included a pair of interceptions in the end zone, that were both caught by Jacob Leftwich, and a bobbled snap by the quarterback that turned a manageable second and three play into a third down and long, which resulted in a punt.

Also, North Torrance had two touchdowns nullified by penalties. The Saxons did not score on either of those drives. That scenario also happened to San Marino in the first half.

All of that resulted in the scored being tied, 14-14 at intermission.

Early in the third quarter, the Saxons turned the ball over on a fumble, which Jackson Wendling recovered for the Titans, around San Marino’s 20-yard line.

“We did a good job of getting some turnovers, but we also didn’t do a good job of stopping them,” Mike Hobbie said. “Turnovers are pretty much them stopping themselves, but we didn’t do a good enough of job on our assignment when we were on defense. We left too many gaps. Too many big plays. It’s one thing to miss tackles, but it’s another thing to blow assignments.”

During the fourth quarter, San Marino took a 20-14 lead on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Short to Beau Hobbie, but the extra point was snuffed by a surging defensive front. On that drive, the Saxons dropped what would have been an interception and had another interception they returned for a touchdown was brought back by a personal foul penalty.

On the following drive, North Torrance scored the game-tying touchdown, though Smith returned the favor by blocking the extra point, which left the score tied at 20-20 with seven minutes and fifty-four seconds to go.

North Torrance carried that momentum, as they followed a defensive fumble recovery with a 60-yard touchdown run to lead 27-20.

The Titans continued to fight, as Short and Hobbie made clutch runs on the following drive. Down the stretch, Short also completed two key passes to Sean Richardson and Jackson Wendling. Short would end up completing 14 passes in 25 attempts, for a total of 238 yards.

“I had a ton of time, so I was able to make some pretty good passes and our receivers caught it, so it was pretty good,” Short said.

Shortly afterwards, Beau Hobbie executed a 2-yard touchdown run and after a timeout ended his Titan football career on a high note, blasting up the middle and diving into the end zone for what appeared to be the game-winning two-point conversion for a 28-27 lead with 2:07 left in regulation.

But the Saxons steeled themselves for a final push. Quarterback Victor Fuellas began the drive with a rush-evading run that at one point took him 25 yards behind the line of scrimmage. The Titans jumped offsides on a fourth down and six yard play that ended up with Bradford barely converting the ensuing fourth and one attempt. A seventeen yard pass to Brayden De’Ocampo put North in Titan territory and Fuellas then embarked on 1 30-yard scramble that took 20 seconds off the clock and winded up with the Saxons on San Marino’s seven yard line. Bradford did the honors himself from the Wildcat formation, barreling into the end zone with seconds left on the clock to provide the eventual margin for victory.

The Titans had one more play after the ensuing kickoff but couldn‘t get things moving in the right direction and the game and season were over.

Hobbie carried 20 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns and Short kept the ball on 13 occasions for an additional 55 yards.

Sean Richardson caught seven passes for 72 yards and Smith reeled in four footballs for 123 yards and the score.

Senior Chris Wicke and junior Seth Matzumoto each recorded 13 tackles. Senior Ethan Lainez was credited with five stops and blocked an extra point. Defensive tackles Charlie Daves and Kourosh Hassibi ended the game with five tackles apiece.

Of Friday’s game, Hobbie praised North for its perseverance.

“They made some great plays,” Hobbie said. “On that long scramble, [Fuellas] waited for his offensive linemen. We had snuffed out a screen. He was smart and made something out of nothing.”

Hobbie also rued two potential interceptions the Titans couldn‘t bring down on the final drive.

‘They both would have been very good catches, but those would have stopped them,” Hobbie said.

Hobbie praised his grandson, Beau, for a well-played game and also singled out Richardson, Wicke and Smith for their efforts.

The Titans ended the season with a 9-2-1 record, but Hobbie seemed to think there was a little more gas left in the tank.

“I need to give things a lot of thought,” Hobbie said when asked to summarize the season. “I need to get things back in perspective. But it’s a shame we aren’t still playing.” – By Tribune Sports Editor Mitch Lehman and Titan Shield Sports Editor Will Slocum

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