PREP FOOTBALL: Santa Fe Christian's greatest game: Goal-line stops define SFC's greatest effort
By SCOTT BAIR - Staff Writer | ∞
Dec. 3, 2005
The Mission Bay High football team was only 1 yard from advancing to Qualcomm Stadium, maybe less. The Buccaneers had three chances to go that distance, with five hulking escorts to ease their travels.
A season was on the line in the CIF San Diego Section Division IV semifinals, with exactly no margin for error and no ground to give.
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Paul Tremblay could think of no place he’d rather be. Santa Fe Christian’s star defensive lineman surveyed his undersized, overmatched teammates and could see they felt the same way.
“It was a moment you train for, a moment that defines your character,” Tremblay said. “There was no fear involved. We were ready for a fight.”
Mission Bay gave them one. The Buccaneers’ massive offensive line scratched and clawed for every inch, but Santa Fe Christian gave it none.
“They had bigger, stronger individuals, but we pushed them back with heart and determination,” Eagles defensive coordinator Dan Egan said. “Our guys swarmed the ball carrier from every angle, and somehow stopped (his) momentum.”
It happened three straight times, each stop more dramatic than the next.
Mission Bay, so confident in its running game that a field goal was never attempted, then turned it over on downs.
That made good running back Corbin Cutshaw’s 24-yard, first-quarter touchdown run and secured a 7-5 victory at Ricks’ Field that stands as the greatest win in Santa Fe Christian history.
Although the Eagles lost in the finals to Valley Center, the win over Mission Bay proved once and for all that Santa Fe Christian was a football juggernaut, regardless of school size. It proved that a team famous for scoring points in the wing-T offense could play defense, too. It showed, beyond all doubt, what the Eagles were made of.
It’s a game that lives on in Santa Fe Christian lore. The efforts of Tremblay, Kyle Shoemaker, Ryan King, Rory Sullivan and their teammates are passed down to future generations with stories, photos and an inscription burned into the north goal post that simply reads: “The Stand ““ 12/03/05.”
Say those two words on campus and most everyone, whether they were at the game or not, knows what it means.
“I make a point to touch that goal post every time I go back,” said Tremblay, now a defensive lineman at USD. “It reminds me of a moment I’m proud to say I was a part of.”
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