AURORA | The snap was perfect, the hold was perfect and Theryne Sandoval-Jimenez gave the Eaglecrest football team a bit of cathartic payback Thursday night at frigid Legacy Stadium.
The senior wide receiver/place kicker knocked through a 21-yard field goal on the final play of regulation to the lift the Raptors to a 17-15 victory over Ralston Valley to put them in command of the Mount Wilson League and keep them undefeated through nine games.
Almost four years earlier on the same field, coach Mike Schmitt’s Eaglecrest team had its heart broken in the second round of the 2014 Class 5A playoffs when Collin Root drilled a 56-yard field goal as time expired to give the Mustangs a 44-43 win. Schmitt remembered it vividly and was glad to be on the other side.
“That’s definitely how we ended our season years ago, so for our seniors — they were freshmen when Ralston Valley kicked that 56 yard field goal against us — to come full circle and put us in the driver’s seat for a league championship was special,” said Schmitt, whose team kept pace with Valor Christian as the only 9-0 teams in 5A with a week left to play in the regular season.
The stakes weren’t quite as high as in 2014 in this season’s scenario — especially since both teams seemed in good position to make the 5A playoffs on RPI regardless of the result — but the finishing drama was nearly the same.
Plagued by penalties and turnovers in the second half, the Raptors’ defense dug deep and got the ball back on multiple occasions by preventing the Mustangs (5-4, 3-1) from scoring again or taking too much time off the clock.
Eaglecrest got the ball back at its own 15 with 3 minutes, 23 seconds, left in regulation and seemingly its last chance to drive for the winning points.
Senior quarterback Jalen Mergerson found junior tight end Dawson Macomber for a crucial first down on 4th-and-6, then kept the drive going with his legs and his arm. Senior Victor Garnes made a big catch on the sidelines with 35 seconds left to put the Raptors’ within striking distance and Mergerson rushed twice to get Eaglecrest to the 4 yard-line with just 3.9 seconds remaining.
Sandoval-Jimenez — who had played on offense throughout the final drive while taking a couple of warm-up kicks — remained perfect on the season with his winning kick to send his team sprinting to the middle of the field to celebrate the program’s 20th consecutive regular season win dating back to the 2015 season.
“I wanted it for my brothers and the seniors, it was Senior Night and there was no doubt at all,” Sandoval-Jimenez said. “We just drove down and did what we needed to do…Sam (Onilenla) got the hold down and I saw it go right through the uprights.
“My teammates believed in me and that’s all I needed.”
Mergerson — who rushed for Eaglecrest’s first touchdown — found Garnes on a go-ahead touchdown pass late in the third quarter before Ralston Valley got the lead back with a short field goal with 9:22 left.
The Raptors need a win in a 4 p.m. Nov. 3 contest against Arvada West at North Area Athletic Complex to finish the regular season undefeated.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
