3 the hard way: West Park's season ends in Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals for third year in a row

Coach Mike Clark hit the nail on the head when he said following Vanden High School's 14-7 victory over West Park on Nov. 22, "These kind of games are lost more than they're won." On the wettest and worst weather night of this high school season – and a fine time, being Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals week, thank you very much Mother Nature – the third-seeded Vikings made two touchdowns in the first half stand and held off a final comeback attempt in the last two minutes to defeat the host No. 2 Panthers in Division III. Vanden (10-2) will meet No. 1 seed Oakdale (9-3) for the championship at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30, at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento. The Mustangs outscored No. 5 Destiny Christian 49-35 in the other semi. West Park and Vanden combined for 24 penalties for 231 yards, which included a West Park player being ejected during a chippy first quarter. The teams committed as many penalties as first downs in the first half, which took 72 minutes to play 24 minutes of football. "I went 25 years without having a kid thrown out for throwing a punch, and it's happened three times this year. It happens early on to one of our best players," West Park coach Jason Tenner said after sharing rain- and tear-soaked hugs with his players and assistant coaches. "We made uncharacteristic, undisciplined plays and it cost us and we weren't able to execute as efficiently as we wanted to. That's it, that's the story of tonight and it's the story of this season." West Park drove late in the first half to the Vanden 25-yard line, where junior quarterback Jaden Jackson was intercepted. Jayden Marquez-Cook's long return set up Vanden at the West Park 32 with 58.5 seconds remaining in the second quarter. The Vikings cashed 36 seconds later on senior quarterback Kalani McLeod's pretty pass to senior Chris Clark on a 27-yard corner route to take a 14-0 halftime lead. As the rain came tumbling down to start the second half, West Park senior Guy Razzano picked off a McLeod pass and returned 30 yards to the Vanden 11. Senior running back Ben Osby scored three plays later on a two-yard blast to make it 14-7 but, much as the Vikings gave the Panthers every opportunity, West Park was done scoring for the night. "When we turned it over to open the second half and they scored, we did a really nice job of responding," Clark said. "We were stagnant offensively, but the defense continued to keep us in the game, didn't give up the big play." Vanden, which faced fourth-and-30 and fourth-and-35 situations in the first half, committed 10 more penalties in the second half. West Park declined another flag, and there were two offsetting infractions in the game. While the Vikings totaled 77 yards of offense and 60 yards in penalties in the third quarter, the Panthers turned over the ball on downs on their second possession of the second half and later punted to finish a seven-play, four-minute possession that netted them 12 yards. They also committed two false starts. "Great year, super proud of our guys," Tenner said. "The hallmark of this team was always finding a way to win in close games. Tonight, we failed in that department. We just made too many mistakes." West Park stopped Vanden on downs in the red zone to give itself one last opportunity starting from the Vanden 19 with 2:23 left. Jackson scrambled for 17 yards and completed three passes, the last a 22-yard sideline rope to junior Gavin McDaniel to the Vanden 28. From there, Jackson rushed for two yards and the Panthers' season ended with three incomplete passes before the Vikings ran out the clock. "That's why we talk about grit, right?" Clark said. "So passion, perseverance, nothing is going to stand in this team's way of advancing and accomplishing what their goal is right now, that's winning a section championship, having a chance to compete for a section championship." West Park outgained Vanden 246-203. Quarterbacks Jackson and McLeod each passed for 103 yards, each with one interception, and each was sacked twice. Jackson rushed for 87 yards on 13 carries, and Osby ran 16 times for 61 yards before sustaining an injury in the fourth quarter. He was helped off the field favoring his right leg. West Park's season ended in the semifinal round for the third year in a row. "We're proud of the team," Tenner said. "We went 10-2. That's a great season, great group of kids. I've got to do a better job of helping us clean up some of the composure things and getting more disciplined in big-time moments. "We weren't able to get it done tonight. That's three straight semifinal trips, and three great seasons, but we gotta figure out ways to get us through these hurdles, through this stage. Part of it is executing when it's tough."