PITTSBURG – There was no shortage of offense during Friday night’s game between Archbishop Riordan and Pittsburg.
For 48 minutes, the two high-powered offenses went back-and-forth, making big play after big play in what became one of the most exciting games of the young high school football season.
After nearly fumbling a 14-point fourth quarter lead, Pittsburg (3-0) halted Riordan’s (1-2) comeback bid to escape with a 56-42 win in front of a packed house at Pirate Stadium.
“The adversity hit us,” said Pittsburg linebacker Jewelous Walls. “We all felt the low point in the game, but at halftime coach (Charlie) Ramirez told us to stand on business. We knew we were better than what we showed and we weren’t playing to our full potential. But our team is a second half team and we popped out there and got the job done.”
Senior Jamar Searcy had a monster game, rushing for 156 yards and four touchdowns. The Washington State commit also made one of the biggest plays of the night, intercepting a Riordan pass in the fourth quarter that helped seal the win.
“He was phenomenal,” Ramirez said. “He’s the best touchdown maker in Northern California, if not in the state.”
Pittsburg was dominant in the first quarter.
Freshman cornerback Kenny Ward intercepted a Riordan pass and returned it 74 yards for a touchdown. On the next Pittsburg offensive possession, Ward caught a 31-yard pass from quarterback Marley Alcantara to put the Pirates up 21-0 nine minutes into the game.
By the end of the first quarter, Pittsburg had a commanding 28-7 lead and looked like it was going to blow out the San Francisco school.
But after struggling to find a rhythm with the pass, the air raid Riordan offense turned to the running game.
Senior running back Jeremiah Jones carried the ball 32 times in the first half for 237 yards, setting up the Riordan offense for multiple touchdown scores. With seconds to go in the first half, Jones caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Michael Mitchell Jr. to bring Riordan within seven points of Pittsburg going into halftime.
Jones ended the game with 296 yards on 42 carries. He scored twice with his feet and once through the air.
“Pittsburg was playing some four-man box against us, really trying to take away our passing game,” said Riordan coach Adhir Ravipati. “I said this to a lot of people during the season about Jeremiah, I really think he has a chance to be a breakout player. … He’s got a lot of really good football in front of him and I think people saw a little bit why we’re so excited about him.”
The game slowed down for both teams entering the third quarter.
Pittsburg capped off a 14-play, 90-yard drive with a Searcy one-yard plunge into the end zone to go up 42-28. Riordan responded with a 90-yard drive of its own on the ensuing possession, ending with a 14-yard rushing score from Jones that made the score 42-34 in favor of the home team.
Both teams opened the fourth quarter with offensive scores. After Mitchell found Cynai Thomas for a 38-yard touchdown pass, Riordan was down just seven points with five minutes remaining.
On the kickoff, the Crusaders recovered an onside kick and had the ball at the fifty yard-line with plenty of time to tie the game. But two plays into the drive, Searcy picked off a Riordan pass in the middle of the field, giving Pittsburg possession in a crucial moment of the game.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Searcy said of his interception. “I thought they were going to air it out to their best receiver and it just came into my hands.”
Pittsburg capitalized on the key turnover, completing a six-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a 20-yard rushing touchdown from running back Elijah Bow that iced the game for the home team.
Pittsburg notched its third win of the season and has scored 41 or more points in each of its last three games. Friday’s game was critical for the Pirates, who will travel to Bellflower next week to play national powerhouse St. John Bosco.
“We knew going into today that it was going to be good prep for next week,” Ramirez said. “They do a lot of the same things that Bosco does on offense.”
Riordan has now dropped back-to-back games after losing to St. Bonaventure-Ventura last week. But Ravipati said the last three games have prepared the Crusaders for a difficult league schedule against the West Catholic Athletic League.
“We’re not trying to just build a good team, we’re trying to build a great program,” he said. “When you’re playing against teams with 15 to 20 years of tradition … We’re trying to build that. It’s good for us to play these games and win these things.”
Injury updates
Both teams had key players dressed in street clothes and sitting on the sidelines on Friday night.
Riordan was without wide receiver and Washington-commit Chris Lawson who was out with an undisclosed injury, but Ravipati said he should be ready for the league opener against Sacred Heart Cathedral in two weeks.
Pittsburg was down its best defensive player with UCLA-bound safety Jadyn Hudson on the sidelines. Ramirez said Hudson is questionable for Pittsburg’s road trip to Bosco, but expects him to be ready soon after.
