HILMAR -- Zach Giuliano settled into his defensive position with a chip on his shoulder.
The usually sure-handed Hilmar fullback got a little loose with the ball and was stripped from behind, handing Livingston excellent field position with just over 2 minutes to play in the opening half on Friday night.
The only thing on the senior's mind was atonement, and that's what he found on the third play of Livingston's drive. Giuliano stepped in front of a Gabe Deol pass at the Hilmar 29-yard line and returned it to the Livingston 26.
Just 43 seconds later, Andrew Olson threw 11 yards for a touchdown and the Yellowjackets were on their way to a 27-0 win over the Wolves and a trip to the Division 4 semifinals.
Surprisingly, Frank Marques' team will host Liberty Ranch, which upset No. 2 Colfax 33-32.
"I was a little ticked after the fumble," Giuliano said. "I knew I had to make a play. I just kind of read the quarterback. I thought I was gone, but it still worked out."
Giuliano created the second of two momentum swings in a hotly-contested first half. Livingston chewed up huge chunks clock with its run game and kept the Yellowjackets' offense on the sidelines. Hilmar had only five offensive plays in the first quarter.
The only thing the Wolves (6-6) failed to do was punch the ball in.
A promising opening drive ended with a fumble at the Hilmar 35. The Wolves turned their next possession over on downs at the Hilmar 40.
The Wolves finally got a sniff of the end zone when running back Brian Perez (15 carries for 93 yards) broke a 43-yard run on a pitch.
Livingston pounded the ball down to the Hilmar 2, but Adrian Muniz was turned away at the 1 on fourth down.
"I thought that was the turning point in the game," Hilmar head coach Frank Marques said. "After that we went to the Power I and the offensive line took over the game."
On a third-and-five from the Hilmar 6, Garrett Jericoff (game-high 115 yards on 16 carries) sprinted free for a 65-yard run on the ensuing possession. He finished off the drive three plays later with a 5-yard TD run to make it 6-0 Hilmar.
"I thought we played a great first half," Lacey said. "I thought we had a good scheme and we came ready to play. Hilmar just made some plays when they had to, and that was the difference."
Olson broke the game open with a 44-yard TD pass to Tyler Silva in the third quarter and Giuliano put the game away with a 6-yard TD run in the fourth.
Liberty Ranch 33,
No. 2 Colfax 32
John Wiernicki scored on a run from over 30 yards out to give the Hawks the lead with 27 seconds left.
Colfax had led 21-7 and 26-13 before Liberty Ranch rallied in the fourth quarter.
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