PACIFIC GROVE — As students from Carmel High stormed the field, players treasured the celebration of keeping a coveted bronze shoe in its grasp for another year.
Parading around with ‘The Shoe’, taking turns clutching it, or putting it above their heads will make preparing for the postseason this week a little more special for the Padres.
“There are no style points in this game,” Carmel coach Golden Anderson said. “We don’t care what it looks like. We just want one more point than them. It ended up being 10.”
The Padres are keeping ‘The Shoe’ on campus for an 11th straight year, erasing a 17-13 second half deficit to secure a 34-24 win over Pacific Grove in the 78th meeting between the two peninsula rivals.
“Every single year something crazy seems to happen with those guys,” Carmel receiver Matt Maxon said. “Last year we were the best football team in Carmel history, and we’re down by 20 in the second half. It’s something about this rivalry.”
Last year Carmel rallied from a 20-point deficit in the second half to complete an undefeated season with a 44-41 win. This year it was staring at a four-point deficit in the third quarter.
“We don’t traditionally start fast in this game,” Anderson said. “People laugh when we say this. But this game is all these kids care about. Some of these guys have waited their entire lives to play in this game. Seniors dream of this moment.”
With the win, the Padres hold a 43-33-2 overall lead in the series, which extends into eight decades. The 11 straight wins is a record in the series.
“Anytime you don’t win ‘The Shoe’ or aren’t in the playoffs, it’s a disappointment,” Pacific Grove coach Jeff Gray said. “There was a lot of emotion in the locker room after the game. This group of seniors is special. I’m going to miss them.”
Mistakes were costly for the Breakers, none bigger than in the third quarter when Maxon stripped the ball, with teammate Dominik Rananasky picking it up and racing 72 yards downfield to turn a four-point lead into a 28-17 lead late in the third quarter.
“Absolutely, that was the turning point,” Gray said. “That was a huge swing. I think some of our players thought he was down. And he wasn’t. This game came down to mistakes.”
The Padres defense helped erase a 10-point second quarter deficit when Maxon stepped in front of a pass and returned it 32 yards for a pick six.
“Our coaches just reminded us to calm down,” said Maxon, who is headed to Stanford on a baseball scholarship. “Prioritize and play your game. That’s what we did. Credit the coaches for believing in us.”
Maxon came up big on the receiving end as well, diving to make a catch to keep a drive alive, setting up the first of two rushing touchdowns from Logan Phares, stretching the Padres lead to 34-17 in the fourth quarter.
“Defensively, I thought we played strong the entire game,” Gray said. “I didn’t feel like we gave up any huge plays. Offensively, our timing was off on some of those handoffs. That happens when your quarterback is getting repetitions in Week 11.”
Having come into the game having dropped four straight games, the Breakers put together a nearly flawless opening drive, eating up over five minutes of the clock with Garrett Kuska and Northrop Kirk moving the chains, with Kirk scoring for a 7-0 lead.
When Pacific Grove recovered an onside kick, it was able to chew another three plus minutes of the clock before settling for a field goal from James Lowen and a 10-0 cushion.
Opening up their bag of tricks, the Breakers answered Maxon’s pick six when quarterback Taj Davis tossed the ball to Andrew Nimri on what appeared to be a jet sweep.
Instead, Nimri stopped and hit Davis — who found himself alone at the 5-yard line, turning and jogging into the end zone to give the Breakers a 17-7 lead, only to see Carmel answer when Kaleb Herro connected with Skyler Brown on a 52-yard scoring strike.
“We settled down at the end of the first half and did a good job of keeping them off the scoreboard just before halftime,” Anderson said. “Our defense gave us a boost. We were playing fast.”
With several of their players going both ways, Pacific Grove began to wear down in the fourth quarter, as the Padres pounded the ball behind its offensive line anchored by Robert Beverly.
“We forced some huge turnovers in the second half,” Anderson said. “As the game wore on, a lot of those players that go both ways for them looked a little tired. We were able to control the clock. It’s a special feeling winning ‘The Shoe’.”
