Modesto Christian wins big, advances to title game

Six yards, a two-point play and about a minute.

That’s all that separates the Modesto Christian and Capital Christian football teams, who will meet next Saturday in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI championship game.

Both teams won Friday night to set up a rematch of their Week 1 thriller, won by Capital Christian 23-22 on a touchdown and two-point conversion in the final minute of the game.

The Crusaders (11-1) advanced to the title game by beating Bradshaw Christian 42-14 on Friday night in Salida.

Chris Brown rushed for four touchdowns as the Crusaders pulled away in the second half. Capital Christian (12-0) rolled past Ripon Christian 56-13.

“I’m excited about playing Capital,” MC coach Mike Parsons said. “They have a great program. It’s going to be an awesome game.”

When the two teams met in early September, Capital Christian quarterback Jacob Norville hit Luis Gomez on a 6-yard scoring pass with about a minute left to get the Cougars to 22-21. Norville then hit Nathan Mitchell on the two-point conversion for the victory.

Parsons said he never thought his team would win the rest of its games. He did, however, think that to win a section title, they’d meet Capital Christian again.

Since that loss, Parsons says his team has found its identity – a run-first squad that’s tough as nails on defense.

He also doesn’t mind coming into the meeting having lost the first one between the two teams.

“There’s something to be said about having their chip on your shoulder, knowing we could have won and didn’t handle our business,” he said. “I’d much rather be where we are than 12-0.”

In that loss, Brown rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns.

On Friday night, the running back had TD runs of 12, 4, 15 and 16 yards. His third touchdown – early in the third quarter – put his team up for good.

“I just told the kids that we’re 24 minutes away from the Grape Bowl,” Parsons said, referring the site of Saturday’s 6 p.m. title game in Lodi. “We were a little sluggish coming out. We just had to get back to the base defense and finish this thing.”

Bear River 37, Hughson 14 – Tyler Johnson Clark and Devondre Stendardo each scored touchdowns for the Huskies, but it wasn’t enough in the Division V semifinal game. Hughson, ranked fourth in The Bee’s small-school poll, finished the season 8-4.

Rio Linda 49, Sierra 44 – Rio Linda scored late in the fourth quarter as the Timberwolves (10-2), The Bee’s No. 2 large-school team, lost in the Division III quarterfinals. Mark Paule gave Sierra a 44-42 lead with about two minutes left on a 10-yard touchdown run.

Sacramento 34, Manteca 28 – The Buffaloes (9-3), ranked No. 4 in The Bee’s large-school poll, gave up an 89-yard touchdown with four minutes left and fell in the Division III quarterfinals.

This story was originally published November 22, 2014 at 12:24 AM with the headline "Modesto Christian wins big, advances to title game."