Blue Devils remain unbeaten, scoring 31 points in the second half to beat West Hills.

It took a 31-point second half, four forced turnovers in the final two quarters and one last defensive stand.

Some how, some way, the Merced College football team found a way to survive a 31-28 victory over West Hills College of Coalinga on Saturday night at Stadium ’76.

The Blue Devils improved to 4-0 this season with an emotional win that saw the Merced College sideline explode on to the field after the defense stopped West Hills on the final play.

“You start feeding off one another,” said Merced College coach Bob Casey, who played on the last Blue Devils team that started 4-0 in 1994. “When that starts happening, you start doing the things you need to do, the little things. We did that tonight. This was a ‘We’ win. It took both sides of the ball to get this win.”

It was a slow start for the Blue Devils offense as they were shut out in the first two quarters.

Falcons receiver Eugene Wells hauled in two touchdown passes in the second quarter to give West Hills a 14-0 lead at intermission. Wells finished with 11 catches for 108 yards.

Casey said he challenged his guys in the locker room at halftime. Whatever was said, resulted in a more energetic Merced College sideline in the second half.

That energy spilled onto the field as the Blue Devils marched 80 yards on their opening drive of the second half as Frank Cocio found Nick Cook for a 3-yard touchdown catch to pull MC within 14-7 with 12:05 left in the third quarter.

The Blue Devils got the ball right back after West Hills had a fumbled exchange on a handoff and MC defensive end Robbie Reyes pounced on it to give the Merced College the ball at the Falcons’ 27-yard line.

Three players later, Elijah Macklin caught a 13-yard touchdown pass to pull the Blue Devils even at 14-14.

It was game on from that point on.

Norfleet kept the Falcons in the game, throwing for 331 yards and adding an 18-yard touchdown run that regained the lead at 21-14 late in the third quarter for West Hills.

The Blue Devils defense came up with big plays when needed like they have all season. There was an interception by Chance Young late in the third quarter that eventually led to a 32-yard field goal by Joseph Lema to cut the Falcons’ lead to 21-17.

Merced College outside linebacker David Perales was a force again, especially late in the second half. Perales picked up another sack and recovered fumble early in the fourth quarter that set the Blue Devils offense up at the West Hills’ 35-yard line.

Cocio hooked up with Cook again for a 3-yard touchdown to give the Blue Devils their first lead at 24-21 with 11:12 left in the game. Cook finished with nine catches for 129 yards and the two touchdowns.

The Falcons answered back, converting on a fake punt that resulted in a 74-yard pass play that set up West Hills at the Blue Devils’ 1-yard line. D’Andre Van Excel scored on the next play to give the Falcons a 28-24 lead.

Cocio threw for 244 of his 307 yards and all four of his touchdowns in the second half, including a 59-yard scoring strike to a streaking Macklin in the middle of the field to retake the lead for MC at 31-28 midway through the fourth quarter.

“It was a post route,” said Macklin, who finished with four catches for 98 yards and the two touchdowns. “The safety was shaded over. I made a move outside to get inside and it was a great ball by my quarterback.

“It was moving kind of like slow motion. It was like being in a movie. I’m waiting for the ball to come down and I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, I like it.’ There was no way I was dropping it. Those are the moments you dream about. That’s what we live for are for moments like that.”

There was plenty of drama in the final 5 minutes as the game hung in the balance.

A long kickoff return on the ensuing kickoff set up the Falcons at the Blue Devils’ 26-yard line.

That’s when Reyes came up with another big defensive play by deflecting a pitch from quarterback Myron Norfleet to his running back. Reyes batted the ball down and scooped it up to give MC the ball back.

“As I got off the tackle I saw the quarterback hesitated,” Reyes said. “As I got close enough, I knew he was going to pitch it. It was a risky play, but I blocked the pitch and picked it up.”

The Blue Devils were able to chew some time off the clock but the Falcons got the ball back at their own 19 with 1:47 left in the game. Norfleet engineered the two-minute offense as the Falcons drove to the MC 38 yard line with about 10 seconds remaining.

On third down, Norfleet took off down field, but Merced College was able to tackle him around the 20-yard and the final seconds ticked off the clock as the Blue Devils sideline stormed the field.

“I challenged our offense,” said Casey, whose team travels to Monterey Peninsula next week. “Our defense has been consistent all year and they’ve carried us. It was time for us to hold the candle for a bit. The defense had done their job. It was time for our offense to carry us for a bit.”

This story was originally published September 23, 2017 at 11:18 PM with the headline "Blue Devils remain unbeaten, scoring 31 points in the second half to beat West Hills.."