OCEANSIDE — El Camino walked into the locker room at Herb Meyer Stadium on Friday night down 19-0 to Grossmont at halftime of its Division II section playoff opener in what appeared to be a merciful ending to a difficult regular season.
The Wildcats had lost their first eight games, won just once and been outscored by more than 200 points.
“Can we eliminate the mental errors on penalties, and can we play as a team and as a unit for four quarters?” first-year El Camino coach Stefan McClure said Monday morning after the Wildcats rallied for a 29-26 win.
“We always tell these guys the potential in this room is through the roof. But it’s like, are you going to be a good teammate? Are you going to be a good brother? Are you going to do your job snap after snap, even if it means you’re not going to get your name called, even if it means you’ve got to take on a double team this play, you’ve got to hold the edge so someone else can make the tackle?
“So, yeah, we look at our guys like the talent’s there. It just comes down to discipline and consistency, which we’ve shown flashes of, just not all four quarters.”
November, however, is high school football’s second season.
“It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the regular season. Learn from it, and you can write your own story and be remembered completely different by what you do in November,” McClure said.
McClure said the halftime adjustments were minimal, consisting mostly of changes along the defensive front to slow Grossmont’s rushing attack. The more important message centered on pride and the possibility that the Wildcats had 24 minutes left in their season.
“At the end of the day, you have to look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘Is this how I want my last high school game to go? Is this how I want to be remembered?’” McClure said.
Grossmont (7-4) wasn’t beating El Camino with its scheme, McClure said. The Wildcats simply weren’t playing smart or as hard as they could.
El Camino (2-9) opened the second half with an interception by Brandon Williams, who gave the Wildcats possession at their own 12-yard line. They couldn’t capitalize and turned the ball over on downs, but the defense forced a Grossmont punt on the ensuing possession.
Quarterback Kai Storer then connected with Milo Thompson for a long gain to the Grossmont 25-yard line. Two plays later, Storer hit Thompson for a 23-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit to 19-7.
After another Grossmont punt, El Camino took over at the Foothillers’ 47. Storer broke off a long run to the 14, setting up Ian Wall’s 1-yard touchdown run. Adam Spencer’s extra point cut the Wildcats’ deficit to 19-14 late in the third quarter.
“We were down big at halftime,” McClure said. “We got some seniors that really just took it upon themselves to go up and play with more pride.”
Grossmont regained a two-score lead in the fourth quarter after recovering an El Camino fumble at the Wildcats’ 15-yard line. Tyler Holmes scored on a 4-yard run, and his extra point made it 26-14.
Storer answered with a 36-yard touchdown pass to Mael Willingham. Spencer’s extra point cut the deficit to 26-21.
The Wildcats’ defense then forced a turnover on downs, giving El Camino possession at Grossmont’s 40-yard line. Storer broke loose for a 33-yard touchdown run, and Wall added the two-point conversion to put the Wildcats ahead 29-26 with less than two minutes remaining.
Grossmont got one final possession and reached its own 40-yard line, but the Foothillers turned the ball over on downs with less than a minute left.
“We have two wins in our last three games, so we’re getting some momentum,” McClure said. “Guys are learning how to persevere, how to play through aches and pains and be disciplined.”
El Camino travels to St. Augustine on Nov. 13 in the next round of the Division II playoffs. Game time is 7 p.m.
“You go through a long season and you go 1-9. It’s hard to practice, right? And you’re like, ‘Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this?’ So I think when a team gets a win like we did on Friday, it just gives our guys a little more hope, right? A little more like, ‘Ah, all those practices are worth it.’ All the conditioning, the working out — yeah, there’s something good that can come from this,” McClure said.
“I don’t say our team is going to be world-beaters, that we’re the best, but they understand, and they believe, ‘Hey, we could win. We have something special here.’”
