It's Beyer ... at the wire with playoff-opening thriller

Cecil Jenkins had dropped a potential game-winning pass moments earlier, but quarterback McKay Marshall didn't flinch when Beyer High called a similar route on its last play.

"Prepare, attack, trust and succeed. It stands for Pats, but it's also our motto," Marshall said. "A big part of that is having trust, and I've got complete trust in Cecil Jenkins."

With nothing but zeroes on the clock, the 6-foot-1 tight end snared a 5-yard pass and fell across the goal line to lift Beyer to a 23-21 win over Stagg to open the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 2 playoffs.

Friday's win is Beyer's first-ever in the section playoffs. It sends the Patriots (9-2) to Elk Grove to face the second-seeded Thundering Herd (11-0).

It looked like Beyer would go on when Cameron Godfrey kicked a 27-yard field for a 17-7 lead with 11:15 to play. Stagg struck for two touchdowns, however, including a 9-yard scramble by Brian Wood for a 21-17 lead with 47 seconds left.

"We came from behind on a few teams this year. It's important to have that confidence," said Jenkins, noting Beyer's comeback wins over Downey and Hilmar. "I wasn't ready for that first pass, but I knew I would catch that second one."

Marshall never doubted it.

"Cecil came over before the play and told me, 'I'm going to give you everything I have,' " said Marshall, whose 10-yard scramble on third-and-1 had moved the ball to the Stagg 8 with 21 seconds left. "If it's coming down to one play, I'll trust Cecil to make it."

It looked like the ball went through the hands of a defender, but Jenkins was not distracted. The two officials stared at one another for an agonizing moment, before throwing up their hands.

It triggered a flood of red and blue, as players and Beyer's fans stormed the field.

Stagg was distraught, just as Beyer had been minutes earlier after allowing Wood to squirm into the end zone.

"We're a fourth quarter team so we're never giving up in a game," said Marshall, 13 of 26 for 166 yards and one interception. "Me and Cecil are seniors. We're not ready for the last game."

Beyer was stunned that it was in a position that it had to rally, considering how it had controlled the first half.

The Patriots were looking to add to a 14-0 lead when they took over on their 34 with 3:11 left in the half, but Marshall's pass downfield was high and safety Ryan Wood grabbed it and returned it to original line of scrimmage.

Beyer paid a steep price for its mistake when Brian Wood hit Wayne Brooks for a 9-yard TD, making it 14-7 a minute before halftime.

That was Stagg's highlight of the half, but it was enough to stay in the game.

The Patriots had driven 76 and 53 yards for their first two TDs. Aden Ruiz scored on a 12-yard counter that caught the defense going the opposite direction, then Marshall had a breathtaking, fourth-down scramble.

Marshall was facing fourth-and-goal at the 13, but had no receivers open downfield. He rolled left and broke tackles at the 6, 4 and 1 before launching himself between two defenders and into the end zone.

"It was all determination. I'm pretty quick and Stagg hadn't seen me run, so they were surprised," said Marshall, whose Patriots tied a 36-year-old school record with their ninth win. "One of the things that changed in the second was Stagg began putting a lot more pressure on, when they realized I could also run the ball."

Marshall carried the offense with his arm because Beyer struggled to find any cracks in Stagg's front eight — the Delta Kings stuck to an eight-man front much of the night. Ruiz and Maury Moore combined for 21 carries and 73 yards, but Moore provided a key play that led to Jenkins' scoring catch.

Moore fielded the kickoff at his 25 and burst up the right side. Only an ankle tackle by the kicker at the Stagg 27 prevented Moore from taking the ball to the end zone — but Jenkins took care of that later on.