PREP FOOTBALL: Ten points in 19 seconds made the difference for Vista in ‘01

By TERRY MONAHAN - Staff Writer | Friday, September 5, 2008 2:05 PM PDT ∞

With less than 90 seconds remaining, Vista High's chances of playing for another section football championship in 2001 were dim.

The season appeared to be over.

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Trailing Carlsbad by nine points in the semifinals of the CIF San Diego Section Division I playoffs at Escondido High, the Panthers found a way ---- actually, a few ways ---- to roar back and score 10 points in the final seconds, pulling off a 29-28 victory with a comeback that seemed impossible.

The win sent Vista to Qualcomm Stadium for the championship game ---- and another title, clinched with a 10-7 victory over Rancho Bernardo.

"We hadn't been in that situation all year," said Chris Hauser, then Vista's head coach, "and then we're trailing and backed up deep in our own territory.''

What happened next still brings joy to all Panthers.

Vista started its comeback at its own 5-yard line, but when quarterback Mike Altieri threw an interception at the Vista 46, the Lancers began to celebrate.

"Who would have thought that the interception actually turns out to help us?'' said current Panthers coach Dan Williams, at the time Vista's defensive coordinator. "I thought the season was over, and we would get started looking at the next season the next day. I was shaking guys' hands about what a great season it had been, when all of a sudden, everything started going our way.''

Carlsbad's elation lasted one play. Instead of taking a knee, the Lancers chose to run out the clock; Aaron Singh fumbled and Josh Hargis recovered at the Carlsbad 48.

Six plays and two Carlsbad holding penalties later, the stage was set for Salo Faraimo to hurdle into the end zone from a yard out with 19 seconds left. Enrique Leyva kicked the extra point.

On the ensuing onside kick, Faraimo forced a fumble and Hargis recovered at the Carlsbad 41 with 15 seconds to go.

Following two incompletions and another Carlsbad penalty, Altieri completed a pass to receiver Andre Hunt, who eluded one defender and was knocked out of bounds at the Carlsbad 5 with one second left.

The stage was set for Leyva's 22-yard field goal, which started a celebration that surged into the night.

"I promised God about 10 things I'd do if he let Enrique kick that kick,'' Altieri said. "There were a lot of prayers said over on the sidelines as Enrique lined it up. One second it looked real bad, and the next it was over and we'd pulled it off.

"When Andre was running on that last play I was yelling for him to get out of bounds.''

Faraimo still laughs when asked about that game. He remembers every second of it.

"I never looked at the clock during the last 90 seconds," he said. "We left everything we had on the field that night. I'm still amazed we pulled that off."

So are a lot of Lancers.