“Everybody did such a great job. I’m so proud of everybody on this team and all 35 guys who contribute every day in practice.” Pacific Grove head coach Chris Morgan said in victory.

– Jon Charron –

Running back, quarterback, defensive back – call him what you will, but Noah Cryns led the Breakers with 3 touchdowns and 101 yards on the ground Friday night in their CCS Semi-Finals victory over Scotts Valley, 37-35. [11-27-15].

After receiving the opening kickoff, Cryns marched out as the teams’ starting quarterback. On the third play of the game, Cryns had a costly mistake and threw an interception. The visiting Falcons would then finish off a 21-yard scoring drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Nick Reyes.

The Breakers then abandoned the pass on their next series and marched it to the Falcons 19-yard line on seven straight running plays. Facing a 4th and 6, and Colton Moore now at the helm, Moore fired an incomplete pass giving the ball right back to Scotts Valley.

Less than 40 seconds later, Reyes connected with Timothy Wagner on a quick slant for a 79-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead over the Breakers midway through the first quarter.

After giving up two touchdowns on the Falcons first two possessions, the Breakers defense finally clamped down and forced a punt.

Starting at their own 20-yard line, the Breakers moved down to the Falcons 6, with the help from two big Colton Moore pass completions. However, as Moore attempted a pass into the endzone, Tannor Gilton picked off the second pass of the game for Scotts Valley.

Chase McKinney, who had 2 fumble recoveries last week against Capuchino, gave the Breakers back some momentum when he fell on a loose ball in the backfield. Four plays later, Cryns took it in from 3-yards out to put the Breakers on the board.

Facing a 4th and 3 at their own 46-yard line, Scotts Valley decided to go for it, but the Breakers defense proved up for the challenge and gave the ball right back to the offense with 3:22 left in the first half.

Cryns and the Breakers took advantage, with Cryns hitting Nick Coppla and Kolby Foster on back to back pass plays. He then kept the ball on four of the next five plays, culminating in a 5-yard touchdown run that brought the game to an even 14-14 draw at the half.

With Scotts Valley controlling the first quarter and Pacific Grove controlling the second, the third quarter turned into a back and forth affair. The Falcons opened the second half with a 65-yard scoring drive to go up 21-14. The Breakers quickly followed suit, capping off a 72-yard scoring drive with a Nick Coppla 28-yard rushing touchdown.

After recovering an onside kick, Pacific Grove was going for the lead, but two plays later, Colton Moore threw his second interception of the game. Scotts Valley took advantage and went 54-yards for another touchdown.

With the ball on their own 11-yard line and down 7, senior Uche Ebo, took the handoff from Moore and raced 71-yards before finally being drug down at the Falcons 18-yard line. Five plays later, Ebo Finished off the drive with a 5-yard rushing touchdown.

Scotts Valley took over at the Breaker 44-yard line with 4:36 left in the game and the score knotted at 28-28. The Falcons took a trick out of the Breakers playbook, and ran the hook and ladder – a play that Pacific Grove used to perfection in the playoffs last year – and scored, giving them a 35-28 lead with just under four minutes remaining.

Starting at their own 31-yard line, Pacific Grove started moving the ball down the field. Moore connected with Donlan for 9-yards, followed by three straight running plays. With the ball on the Falcons 37-yard line, Moore backed up to pass and found a streaking Kane Miller wide open down the field. Miller’s first catch of the game was a big one, as it brought the Breakers 3-yards from the game tying touchdown. On the very next play, Cryns scored his third rushing touchdown of the game and brought Pacific Grove within 1 point.

Only 1:16 remained on the clock and coach Morgan made a pivotal call to go for the 2-point conversion and the win. Moore took the snap and rushed to right, but was tackled just short of the endzone, giving the Falcons the most likely victory.

After a failed onside kick, the Falcons took over at the Breakers 44-yard line, only needing one first down to end the game. The Breakers defense held strong and having three timeouts left helped, as they forced a punt with only :50 seconds remaining in the game.

Eerily, Pacific Grove found themselves in a very familiar situation. Last year at home against Monte Vista Christian, the Breakers fell 21-14, only losing on the last play of game. An interception in the endzone.

“We really didn’t talk about last year to much,” Morgan explained.  “You get to this point, its different teams, different players, and different situations. We knew we had a tough game and let’s just go out and play football and try to win.”

Pacific Grove took over at their own 29-yard line, with no timeouts left. Moore connected with Kane Miller for a 12-yard pickup. After hitting Cryns for no gain, Moore hit Ebo on a dump off, for an 8-yard pickup. With a 3rd and short, Ebo took the draw and picked up the first, stopping the clock.

Miller then caught a 20-yard strike from Moore, setting up the Breakers at the 25-yard line. After a short 1-yard reception from Miller, the Breakers were facing a big decision. They held the ball at the Falcons 24-yard line, with no timeouts and only :08 seconds remaining.

Moore would drop back to pass and find Miller in middle of the field for a big catch. Miller would get tackled at the 4-yard line with less than :02 seconds remaining in the game. Morgan sent out Noah Ryan to attempt the game winning field goal. “I felt it,” Moore said, referring to the pressure of holding the game winning field goal attempt. “I had confidence in him, but I just had to set it up and let him kick it.”

Ryan’s kick sailed through the uprights, giving the Breakers a 37-35 victory over the Falcons.

Through the first 44:23 of the game Colton Moore was 2 of 5 for 76 yards, but had 2 interceptions. In the last 3:37 however, Moore went 8 of 8 for 105 yards. “We were doing a lot of wildcat stuff and then [Moore] comes in and we ask him to do some things and he responded well down the stretch,” coach Morgan said. “There were a couple of plays where he had to make some good reads and make some great throws and he responded like a senior in that situation.”

“We’re still just playing football,” Breakers head coach Chris Morgan said about whether or not he thought his team was now officially – The Team – in the MTAL. “We’ve had a good three year run, three 10 win seasons in a row. Our guys are playing tough, physical football and our coaches are doing a great job of preparing the kids. We just want to look at it from the point of view – on to the next game.”

While the two interceptions early in the game, sort of put a shadow on Moore’s night, he actually had really good numbers. 10 of 13 for 181 yards in the game as a whole. “I was struggling early in the beginning,” Moore said. “But I looked at my teammates and knew that I had to do it for them. I had to step up and make plays, and everyone performed great and we clicked on that last drive.”

On their chances against Half Moon Bay come next Saturday, Moore said that “were going to watch film a lot and our offense needs to click and will see what we can do.”

Stats –

Passing – Moore, C. 10-13-181-2INT; Cryns, N. 2-6-23-1INT

Rushing – Cryns, N. 22-101-3TD; Ebo, U. 11-107-1TD; Coppla, N. 7-44-1TD; Foster, K. 13-59

Receiving – Miller, K. 5-88; Donlan, J. 2-61; Ebo, U. 2-32; Foster, K. 1-23.

Defensive/Special Teams – McKinney, C. 1fmble rec; Ryan, N. 1-1-22yds FG, 4-4 PAT.

#1 Seed Pacific Grove (10-2, 6-1) will now face #2 Seed Half Moon Bay (10-2, 4-1) on Saturday, December 05, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at Independence High School.

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