Merced stuns top-seeded Kimball in thriller with two-point conversion on final play
Merced High senior quarterback Seth Scheidt was in shock. Understandably,he couldn’t believe what had just happened.
Scheidt scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run on the final play of regulation to pull the Bears within 50-49 of Kimball. The Bears then opted to go for the win with a two-point conversion.
Scheidt faked a handoff on the fly sweep, took a step up, and then jumped and fired a pass back to the left over a leaping defender and into the hands of Merced left tackle Jaylen Thao-Booth.
Thao-Booth then raced into the the end zone for the two-point conversion and a thrilling 51-50 victory for the Bears over No. 1 seed Kimball in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV semifinals on Friday night at Don Nicholson Stadium in Tracy.
“We went for two to win,” said Scheidt, still shaking off the nerves moments after the victory. “If we don’t get that we lose. It’s just nuts that we got it. A tackle screen that we practice 800 times in practice and never really used it until now. It just feels really good. We executed and did what we had to do.”
There were a few anxious moments after the play because the official in the end zone threw a flag. However, after the referees met they ruled that the pass was a backwards throw, which made the play legal.
“I know I was forward. I knew it was a backwards pass,” Scheidt said. “It scared me when they called it an illegal pass. I ran over to the ref and I got into a little bit of trouble, but the other ref said he saw it and it was a backwards pass. Yeah, they made the right decision.”
The Bears (9-3) stormed onto the field after the two-point conversion was ruled good.
Merced head coach Rob Scheidt, and Seth’s father, jumped into the arms of defensive coach Dean Hammit. Players began hugging each other and jumping up and down.
For first time since 2006, the Bears are headed to the section championship.
The No. 4 seed Merced will play No. 2 Vanden on Saturday in the finals at 1 p.m. at St. Mary’s High School in Stockton. Vanden defeated No. 3 Vista Del Lago 67-27 on Friday night.
Merced had to win a wild game to earn its way into the championship game.
The Bears knew it was going to be a tough challenge facing an explosive offense that averaged almost 50 points per game and was guided by quarterback Nicholas Coronado, who led the state in passing yards and passing touchdowns.
The Merced defense did well to stop the Jaguars offense four times in the first half, forcing two turnover on downs, an interception and a punt.
However, special teams mistakes led to a punt return and a kickoff return for scores and Kimball led 34-20 at the half.
The Bears’ defense turned up the pressure in the second half as their defensive linemen started winning their battles up front. They forced Coronado to scramble and he completed just 7 of 15 passes in the second half for just 48 yards. He threw for 176 yards and three touchdowns in the game.
“We had to put pressure on the quarterback and get him moving,” said Thao-Booth, who had one of Merced’s three sacks. “He’s a great player. We had to make it hard on him. Our DBs did a great job of hitting some balls down to the ground.”
Merced fell behind 14-0 early and played from behind most of the game. It seemed like every time the Bears pulled within one score they would take a step back.
Bears running back Chase Smith scored on an 11-yard touchdown run for his second score on the night to pull Merced within 34-27. The Bears then blocked a punt in the end zone for a safety to cut the lead to 34-29 with 2:58 left in the third quarter.
However, the Bears fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Jaguars capitalized with a 31-yard touchdown run by running back Sebastian Tate to extend the lead to 42-29 with 1:57 left in the third quarter.
Merced answered again on the final play of the third quarter when Seth Scheidt connected with receiver Jack Collins on a 9-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 42-36.
The Bears defense forced a turnover on downs at Kimball’s 46-yard line. Smith broke free for a 29-yard run to help set up a 6-yard touchdown run by Scheidt to give Merced its first lead of the game at 43-42 with 8:28 left in the game.
“It shows the spirit of this team,” Seth Scheidt said. “If you look back at the second half on special teams we were in lock down. We bounce back so well.”
Kimball regained the lead with a 48-yard drive late in the fourth quarter. Coronado connected with receiver Dylan Anderson on a 14-yard touchdown pass to give the Jaguars a 50-43 lead with 1:35 left.
Kimball then either opted to try to catch Merced sleeping with an onside kick or a squib kick, but the Bears pounced on the ball on their 43-yard line with 1:32 remaining.
A 9-yard run by Scheidt and a 42-yard catch and run by Evahn Perez on a screen pass had the Bears at the Kimball 7-yard line after two plays. Perez had a monster game for the Bears with seven catches for 190 yards and a touchdown.
Scheidt threw for 252 yards and added 105 yards rushing and three more scores.
Merced worked the ball down to the 1-yard line with 3 seconds remaining when Scheidt punched it in to set up the final play.
In the 2006 section championship game against Vacaville, Merced lost 37-36 when they failed on a two-point conversion on the final play.
Rob Scheidt said it wasn’t until the final seconds that he decided to go for two and the win.
“Up until 16 seconds left we were going to kick it,” Rob Scheidt said. “We weren’t going to go for two but then the situation changed and we had a really good play. We’ve run that play about 200 times in practice it’s worked every time. There’s a lot of things that have to go right on that play. You worry about the protection, the throw and the catch. Fortunately our tackle is a great basketball player and one of the best players I’ve over coached.”
Thao-Booth said Scheidt told him they would use the play in a game at some point. He said the pass was coming to him in slow motion.
“As soon as I caught it I knew I had to go and do everything I could to get into the end zone,” Thao-Booth said.
Now Merced has an opportunity to win its first section championship since 1990.
“It’s going to mean everything,” Thao-Booth said. “We have to play our hearts out. We’re going to do everything we can to come out with a victory.”
This story was originally published November 20, 2021 at 1:35 AM with the headline "Merced stuns top-seeded Kimball in thriller with two-point conversion on final play."
