Inspired Saints rally to win with 0:31 left

Steve Virgen

The Santa Ana High Saints bounced up and down in celebration of their

emotional victory, shouting, “Felix! Felix! Felix!,” Friday night at

Orange Coast College.

The Estancia football team looked on in amazement.

The Eagles came back from a 19-0 deficit to grab a 20-19 lead

after Bubba Kapko’s third touchdown run with 8:40 remaining. But the

Saints, dedicating their game to injured quarterback Felix Munoz,

scored with 31 seconds left, virtually ending the wild Golden West

League game.

Munoz, who underwent surgery to remove a blood clot on his brain

after collapsing during Santa Ana’s 34-7 loss to Westminster last

week, was released from UC Irvine Medical Center Thursday. His

brother, Art, said Munoz wanted to come to the game, but doctors told

him to stay indoors.

“That was all for Felix,” said Santa Ana tight end Kareem Yhamel,

who caught the game-winning 15-yard touchdown pass from relief

quarterback Alex Gober.

Santa Ana might have rotated quarterbacks throughout the game, but

starter Anthony Barrera was injured on the Saints’ first drive. Gober

led Santa Ana to the win, passing for 212 yards and three touchdowns

on 11-of 24 passing. He also did his best to impersonate Michael Vick

and ran for 48 yards on nine carries.

“That was a heck of a football game,” Estancia Coach Craig Fertig

said. “What I was pleased with -- and it’s hard to be pleased after a

loss like this -- was that my kids never quit.”

Fertig also said the Saints were able to win because the Eagles

(3-4, 1-3 in league) could not put the game away late in the fourth

quarter. Estancia was unable to convert on a fourth-and-three

situation from the Santa Ana 31 with 2:52 left.

The Saints (4-3, 1-2) took over and drove for the winning

touchdown. The Eagles dropped two would-be interceptions, that

slipped through the hands of Estancia defenders. Santa Ana also

converted two fourth down plays: one, a fourth-and-six, the other, a

fourth-and-10.

Gober completed a 30-yard pass to Ricky Garcia with 46 ticks

remaining, on third-and-10, as Estancia fans gasped while the Saints

ran to the line of scrimmage. Gober spiked the ball to stop the

clock, and then he threw a 15-yard TD to Yhamel on a rollout toward

the visitor’s sideline.

Santa Ana’s seemingly improbable victory did not totally take the

life out of Estancia, in particular Kapko, who rushed for 127 yards

on 25 carries. Kapko had nine rushes out of 11 plays on Estancia’s

drive that tied the Saints, 19-19. After Geo Macias’ PAT, the Eagles

went up.

Kapko also scored a 3-yard touchdown run on fourth down, pulling

the Eagles to within 19-13 with 4:12 left in the third quarter.

“We got [Costa] Mesa next week, and that’s all we’re concerned

with right now,” Kapko said. “This coming week is our hell week, time

for us to go back to basics.”