A firm sense of self-belief has led the Escondido Charter High football team to a repeat performance as a league champion.
The White Tigers controlled the tempo for most of the contest and then held on for a 16-8 victory Friday night over Classical Academy in a matchup of two of the section’s top Division V teams at Del Norte High.
“The main thing for us is the amount of dedication we have to each other,” said senior linebacker Dominic Schwarm, whose second-period interception was one of three takeaways by the Escondido Charter defense. “We have a very trustworthy team.”
Even after Classical Academy cut the score in half with three minutes to pay in regulation, the White Tigers did not wilt.
“If anything, we had more of the will to fight,” said Schwarm.
Escondido Charter (8-2, 3-0) repeated as Pacific League champions with the win and will await its fate for the CIF Division V playoffs which begin next week.
“I’m proud of the way we found a way to win,” said White Tigers coach Jon Goodman, who coached at Classical for five seasons until 2018 and is hoping for a top seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs. “This is just one of the goals we set for ourselves.”
Classical Academy (7-3, 1-2) will also have a playoff run just one year after a one-win season.
“We just keep on believing,” said Caimans coach Josiah Cruz. “We were 1-9 last year and now we’re 7-3 and hoping that people fear us in the playoffs.”
A 1-yard touchdown run by Life Pollard and a successful two-point conversion from Luke Sega to Jack Ballou ed for Classical Academy’s first points of the game and cut a 16-0 Charter lead in half with 3:01 left in the fourth quarter.
After forcing the White Tigers to punt with 1:20 left, the Caimans advanced from their own 45-yard line to a first down at the Charter 26, but two incomplete es and quarterback sacks by Joe Scates and Horatio Keller prevented Classical from scoring.
Senior quarterback Skylar MacMahon tossed two touchdown es in the first half, leading to a 13-0 halftime lead for the White Tigers.
The two teams battled through a scoreless first quarter, trading punts until Classical’s Trevor Allen boomed a punt of 57 yards to pin the White Tigers on their own 3-yard line two minutes into the second quarter. Three plays after an illegal procedure penalty sent Escondido Charter back to its own 1, MacMahon found senior receiver Noah Reyes wide open over the middle.
Reyes gathered in the ball at the 50-yard line and raced untouched to complete an 80-yard scoring play with 9:30 left in the first half.
“I just read the defense and saw Noah one-on-one with the cornerback,” said MacMahon.
The visitors struck again less than three minutes later following an interception by Schwarm on Classical Academy’s first offensive play following the Charter score. The White Tigers converted a fourth-and-2 situation when Nicholas Patterson ran up the middle for 13 yards to the 2-yard line. MacMahon then scrambled to his left and found senior tight end John Scates for a 2-yard TD which gave Charter a 13-0 advantage at halftime.
A fumble recovery by Joshua Vanderwal on Classical’s third offensive play of the second half led to a 37-yard field goal by Jorden Campbell which padded Escondido Charter’s lead to 16-0 with 5:19 remaining in the third period.
Escondido Charter 16, Classical Academy 8
Escondido Charter 0 13 3 0 — 16
Classical Academy 0 0 0 8 — 8
EC — Reyes 80 from MacMahon (Campbell kick)
EC — John Scates 2 from MacMahon (run failed)
EC — FG Campbell 37
CA — L. Pollard 1 run (Ballou from Sega)
