King Holder delivered the game-clinching interception for Oceanside
In a game that had been a defensive struggle from start to finish, you had to figure a big defensive play would be the decider. King Holder’s interception in the final minute of the fourth quarter sealed a 14-7 win for #1 Oceanside over Southern Section traditional power Long Beach Poly. It came on an outside post that Jackrabbits quarterback Dylan Lagarde threw up for grabs, and Holder out-leaped wide receiver Randall Goforth for the ball :
Quentis Clark threw two first-half touchdown passes for Oceanside but both teams fell victim to turnovers and penalties in the second half, bogging down a battle between two marquee programs in Southern California. Poly and Oceanside combined for eight turnovers after halftime, four apiece. Despite the sloppy play, Oceanside extended their unbeaten streak to 28-0-1.
Hear more from Holder and Oceanside head coach John Carroll after the jump:
An overflow crowd was in attendance at Oceanside's Simcox Field
The Pirates’ 14-0 lead was gained courtesy of a hot streak from Clark at quarterback. After missing on his first two passes, including one intercepted by Poly defensive lineman Siliako Faamausili, Clark connected on 8 of his next 10. Facing a 3rd and 13 from the Poly 45 midway through the first quarter, Clark took a deep drop and found Demario Coleman streaking down the seam with his defender steps behind. His rainbow found Coleman in stride, and Demario shrugged off the Poly corner for a 45-yard touchdown catch and a 7-0 Oceanside lead.
After Poly saw a drive die at the Oceanside 6 with a missed 23-yard field goal, the two teams traded possessions, but a shanked punt by Jackrabbits’ kicker Alan Ronniss set up the Pirates at the Poly 45. Combined with two hard inside runs by Rene Siluano (8 rushes for 51 yards, 3 receptions for 10 yards), Clark hit on four straight passes, finding King Holder on a well-thrown square out to the front-left pylon of the end zone from 9 yards out to make it 14-0 Oceanside.
Holder talked about the improvement that Quentis Clark has shown at quarterback this season:
Head coach John Carroll thought that Clark played much better in the first half than he did in the second half:
Meanwhile, the Jackrabbits were falling victim to some bad old habits, such as committing 10 penalties and failing to generate an accurate passing game. The Oceanside defense, led by hard-hitting linebacker Markis Tokio, sacked Poly three times and held their two quarterbacks to a combined 7-for-24 passing, with four interceptions.
Poly’s only score came on a blocked punt in the 4th quarter, recovered by Dominique Williams, who raced 35 yards to make it 14-0. But the Jackrabbits’ possession chart for the second half read: INT, punt, INT, punt, INT, INT. This despite a team-wide flu bug that had crippled Oceanside during practice all week, and a host of players working on both sides of the football against a deeper Poly squad that had mostly platoon players. It added up to a strong effort for a grateful head coach:
The Pirates are hoping to add another title to their proud tradition
Poly falls to 1-3, losing to the 2nd and 4th ranked teams in the state and the #1 ranked team in San Diego Section. At 4-0, meanwhile, Carroll and the Pirates are taking dead aim at Oceanside’s 6th straight section title. Intersectional wins like this not only build confidence, but also bolster San Diego’s resume to send a third straight team to the state bowl games at the end of the season. Carroll knows his team held the standard for all of the county on this night:
Craig Elsten -
Chris Ello -
Chainsaw -
