Edison’s varsity football team came back to beat West, 22-21, in the last game before the stadium will be largely renovated.
The outcome hinged on a last-second field goal by Wolf Pack senior kicker Adam Crandall. That much is fact, but things got blurry after Crandall booted the ball.
The officials, who were not available for comment after the game, called the kick no good. Vikings players happily ran onto the field, but then there was hesitation and confusion. West players started to celebrate. After that, a referee waved his arms again to signal a miss.
“We know we won,” Wolf Pack (1-6 overall, 0-2 Tri-City Athletic League) senior running back Dexter Alcala said. “Hopefully, we protest it, but there’s nothing you can do about it. You just have to move on.
“I’ll put my life on it, that the ball went past (the crossbar). That’s how confident I am that that ball crossed that post.”
West head coach Steve Lopez echoed Alcala’s sentiments.
“It hit the crossbar and went through,” he said. “That was the commotion. But the officials didn’t see it.”
Parents and fans near the press box on the Edison side of the field were also unhappy. They thought the clock stopped unnecessarily on the final Wolf Pack drive and that Crandall shouldn’t have even had the chance for his field goal attempt.
But at the end of the night, West dealt with the loss and walked off the field.
“They played hard, but (Edison) played great, too,” Lopez said. “It’s bad to lose on the last play of the game, but we made mistakes all around.”
With eight minutes, 34 seconds left in the game, West held a 21-8 lead after junior quarterback Jake Peterson found junior receiver Will Kaigler for a 60-yard touchdown.
On the ensuing drive, the Vikings (4-3 overall, 2-0 TCAL) scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper by Edward Chavez to bring it to 21-14 after a missed 2-point conversion.
After a Wolf Pack drive failed, Edison scored again with 1:37 left on a 5-yard touchdown run by senior tailback Lucky Gonzalez. The Vikings rolled the dice and opted to go for two, a strategy that worked as they took the 22-21 lead on a pass from Chavez to Randolph Blanche in the back of the end zone.
“We shouldn’t have given up that many points in the second half,” Alcala said. “Part of it is our fault, but at the same time, you have that last-second drive, you’ve got to get that kick in there.”
Alcala led the final drive out of the Wildcat formation, lining up at quarterback while Peterson played receiver. With his arm and his legs, Alcala led a drive deep into Edison territory, but it wasn’t enough to get his team its second win of the year.
Alcala completed two passes and carried the ball 36 times for 129 yards and one touchdown.
West went into the half leading 14-0, a lead at which Edison started to chip away in the third quarter.
The Vikings got on the board about two minutes into the half on a touchdown pass from Chavez to senior tight end Foloi Vae to make it 14-8.
West’s Peterson finished 8-for-15 passing with 161 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Next week, the Wolf Pack will host Stagg from Stockton in their homecoming game.
• Contact Tracy Press reporter Justin Lafferty at 830-4269 or jlafferty@tracypress.com.
Working hard and working smart are two different things. Please don't mistake the two.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=videoplayer&vid=624
This definitely needs Pete Saco's attention. The referee that was in question of making the call even ducks, afraid he is going to get hit by the ball. This referee should be FIRED ... not allowed to work another SJS football game.