Hamilton wins Div. 3 championship in OT

There was no mistake about it: Willows was a championship battleground for the California Interscholastic Federation on Wednesday night.

The top-seeded Honkers hosted No. 2 Hamilton in an all-Glenn County battle for all the marbles in the Northern Section Division III finale, and the visiting Braves won a 21-14 thriller in overtime.

The grandstand on both sides was packed for this epic, and it was only fitting that the score be deadlocked at 14 at the end of 48 hardhitting, action-packed minutes.

In overtime, each team had a chance from 1st-and-goal, the purest form of 10-yard fight, four plays to reach the promised land before relinquishing possession to the other squad.

Ryan Schimke got the first call for the Braves, and mustered one yard.

Hamilton quarterback Brad Lohse followed with a carry off-tackle on the right side, broke through the Willows line, sustained a hit just before the goal line and spun 360 degrees over the plane for a Braves touchdown. With the visitors' west side of the stadium on its feet, Hamilton kicker Oscar Pineda split the uprights on the point-after to put the Braves up by 7.

The go-ahead blow was devastating to the east side, but the Honkers faithful got behind their purple-and-gold hoping to even the score.

Fabian Gutierrez carried first and gained a yard. Quarterback Will Enos rolled out to pass but the Braves secondary swarmed Willows' receivers, and he was sacked for a 6-yard loss.

At 3rd-and-goal from the 15, Willows was forced to go to the air again.

Honkers wide receiver Cody Pastorino has been catching passes all season from Enos by beating defensive backs with his lightning speed, but there wasn't enough room to outrun anybody this time. Hamilton put its tall, wiry safety Omar Diaz on the Honkers' primary target, who is generously listed at 5'10" on the roster, and he leaped in front of him for a season-ending interception.

The Honkers' hopes for their first section title since 2003 were dashed, and Hamilton repeated its Division III title from last season, waving its blue-and-gold banners with pride during an onfield celebration by players and fans.

The Braves controlled possession of the football all game, running twice as many plays on the ground, 57-28, but in the end it was the turnovers that cost the Honkers.

Diaz's interception was his second of the game and the fourth time his team picked off an Enos pass. Peter Knight also recovered a fumble for the Braves, which led to their first score.

On a controversial 4thand-goal play from the 2, Lohse option-dived up the middle and his daring effort was rewarded with a touchdown. With so many Honkers eager to impede his progress, it was difficult to determine when his forward movement stopped, but the referees' hands went up and six points lit up the board for Hamilton with 1:51 still to play in the first quarter.

The next 42 minutes - and beyond - were just as exciting for Glenn County fans, who definitely got more than $6 worth of memories with their price of admission.

Pastorino caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Enos and Fabian Reynoso kicked the extra point to knot the score just before the break.

Hamilton went ahead with an 84-yard drive in the middle of the third quarter. Big gains by Diaz and Knight set up a 6-yard scoring dash for Diaz.

Willows knotted the game again on the ensuing possession.

A sweet kickoff return by Pastorino got the Honkers started on their own 40. Enos connected with Lane Taylor and Michael Chappell on consecutive passes to move Willows into Braves territory, Kormos slashed inside their red zone and Enos hit Chappell with a 13-yard scoring strike.

From that point to the end of regulation, there were three turnovers, but neither team could capitalize.

Taylor rocked Erik Smith after an 8-yard reception for a fumble and A.J. Wagenman recovered for Willows, but Diaz intercepted Enos on the very next play to give the ball back to the Braves offense.

Hamilton's ground assault of 254 yards outgained Willows' entire offense, which managed 239 total. Diaz carried the ball 26 times for 141 yards and Knight rushed 10 times for 49 yards.

Both quarterbacks completed seven passes but Lohse was much more effective, going 7-for-9, despite amassing less yardage. Enos gained 103 yards but threw incomplete 11 times.

One of the night's biggest what-ifs was on Willows' second drive after the break, after Tyler Kormos recovered a Braves fumble on Hamilton's 21-yard line. The Honkers gained two yards on a pass play, five more on an offsides call and went for it on fourth down with three yards to go - as opposed to trying for a field goal.

Instead of giving the sophomore Reynoso an opportunity to break the 7-all tie, Willows elected to hand the ball off to Ricardo Mata, who was stuffed for a 2-yard loss.

Hamilton had its chances down the stretch as well to prevent overtime.

Joey Van Houtte's fourthquarter interception nearly led to a go-ahead score, giving the Braves possession from the Willows 38. Diaz and Schimke pushed Willows back to the 5, where the Braves faced fourth down with a little over a yard to go for the first.

Rather than bringing out Pineda, its All-State kicker, for the short punch, Hamilton tried for the victory and Diaz was stopped the width-of-agnat's-eyelash short of a first down.

Willows punted its final possession and Hamilton threatened again before the clock expired, with the leg of Pineda.

In what looked like it would be the game-ending play, Willows instead defied the odds by blocking Pineda's 37-yard attempt to force the drama to continue.

Pastorino led all receivers with 66 yards in three catches, and Chappell also snared three catches for 36 yards for Willows. Kormos led the Honkers rushers, carrying the ball seven times for 79 yards.

Both teams ended the year with a record of 10-2.

Hamilton vs Willows Stats
Hamilton 7 0 7 0 7 - 21
Willows 0 7 7 0 0 - 14
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter: H - Lohse 2 run
(Pineda kick) 1:51
Second Quarter: W - Pastorino 16
pass from Enos (Reynoso kick)
0:53
Third Quarter: H - O. Diaz 6 run
(Pineda kick) 4:42
W - M. Chappell 13 pass from
Enos (Reynoso kick) 1:59
Overtime: H - Lohse 9 run
(Pineda kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Passing
Hamilton Lohse 7-9-0-90
Willows Enos 7-18-4-103
Receiving
Hamilton (7-90): P. Knight 2-30,
O. Diaz 1-29, Van Houtte 3-23,
Smith 1-8
Willows (7-103): Pastorino 3-66,
M. Chappell 3-36, L. Taylor 1-1
Rushing
Hamilton (57-254): O. Diaz 26-
141, P. Knight 10-49, Lohse
10-34, Schimke 6-26, McCorkle
3-5, Hernandez 1-0, D. Knight
1-(-1)
Willows (28-136): Kormos 7-79,
Pastorino 4-18, Mata 2-15,
Gutierrez 9-9, Barnes 1-8, Enos
5-7
TOTAL OFFENSE
Hamilton: 90 passing + 254 rushing
= 344 yards
Willows: 103 passing + 136
rushing = 239 yards