Mocombe, Farella lead SJB's victory
Mathieu Mocombe #25 turns to the outside for some yards against Christ the King. (Oct. 8, 2011) Credit: George A. Faella
With a little more than two minutes left and St. John the Baptist clinging to a three-point lead and the defense having already endured five touchdowns, it would be hard to imagine the Cougars not being a bit beat up, worn down and punch drunk.
But that's exactly when SJB finally delivered the knockout.
Christ the King's explosive offense tried for one last bit of fireworks from deep in its own territory, but this time, the Cougars extinguished any hope of a comeback, forcing a turnover on downs to seal their 37-34 CHSAA home win Saturday.
Mathieu Mocombe had 18 carries for 141 yards and a touchdown and Joseph Farella ran for 51 yards and three touchdowns on six carries.
"Those two guys are like salt and pepper," SJB coach Keith Schweers said. "They're together all the time, they're best friends, they rely on one another and they've been that way for four years."
Though the last-ditch drive started at CK's 9-yard line, there was plenty reason for SJB (2-2) to be uneasy. Both offenses had gone three-and-out just once in the game, and both had shown an ability to score on long plays.
Christian Turri opened the game with an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. But the Royals (0-4) scored on the ensuing possession, as James Coleman broke free for a 72-yard touchdown just 1:26 later.
"After they scored, we knew it was going to be a fight," Mocombe said. "They came to play, just like we did."
After that, though, the momentum seemed to swing back to SJB. Austin Kraft nailed a 23-yard field goal with 3:18 to go in the first quarter and Mocombe had a 10-yard scoring run with 8:27 to go in the second quarter, giving SJB a 17-6 lead.
But Deyshawn Tucker recovered an SJB fumble, leading to a Coleman touchdown with 46.2 seconds to go and closing the gap to 17-12 at the half.
In the second half, SJB scored three times, and CK scored on its ensuing possession each time, with Coleman running in a two-point conversion with 7:33 to go in the fourth quarter to cut CK's deficit to 37-34.
