Last-minute kick return dooms Devils on the road

Before the buzz from Noah Croninger’s spectacular 73-yard catch and run had begun to fade, the Monterey Peninsula football team was going the other way.

Croninger’s touchdown tied Saturday night’s game with 1, minute 13 seconds to play, after the Lobos had taken the lead 35 seconds before. The football gods had one cruel plot twist left in the works, however, as Najee Champagne returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for the winning score.

The three scores spanning just 51 seconds was a fitting end to a wild 49-42 Monterey victory.

“It’s real emotional to go out, play your hardest and think you have a chance to win it in overtime, just to give the lead right back like that,” said defensive back Demario Guyton, who had two interceptions and a 55-yard fumble return for a score in the loss. “Coach (Bob) Casey warned us all week. They’re a team that capitalizes on mistakes. We let down on special teams all night and it cost us the game.”

The Lobos (4-2, 2-1 Golden Coast Conference) only led for 1 minute, 32 seconds in the second half and just under six minutes in the game. It was all MP needed as Merced once again provided no shortage of opportunities.

The Blue Devils (2-4 0-2 GCC) were flagged 17 times for 223 yards, had two field goals blocked and were intercepted three times.

Casey had repeatedly warned his team that Monterey Peninsula was not a team you wanted to let believe it was in the game. And with each Blue Devil miscue, the Lobos started to believe.

Even a fast 14-0 start by Merced didn’t do much to dampen their spirits.

The MC defense forced a three-and-out to open the game, and Nathaniel Nelson orchestrated a nine-play, 67-yard drive on the Blue Devils’ first possession. Nelson found Stephon Cross for a five-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0. Guyton doubled Merced’s lead on MC’s next defensive series, picking up a fumble and returning it 55 yards for a touchdown.

The momentum didn’t last long, however, as Monterey answered with three scores in a 6:36 span to take a 17-14 lead.

Maxwell Yeater hit a 28-yard field goal. A blocked Blue Devils field-goal try helped set up a Dominique Talley 11-yard touchdown run and Travis Cadinha intercepted Nelson and returned it 16 yards for a score in the next series.

The two teams started exchanging scores after that, with a 65-yard Josh Stevens (22 rushes, 162 yards) run giving the Devils a slim 28-27 lead at the break.

A Randy Jones fumble recovery in the end zone pushed the lead to 35-27 on the opening possession of the second half, but the Blue Devils’ offense lost its rhythm after that.

Keon Marsh (23 of 33 for 303 yards) tossed a 30-yard touchdown pass and a two-point conversion to Brandon Sampson to tie the game early in the fourth quarter. It remained that way until the final two minutes, when Talley finished off a six-play, 79-yard drive with a touchdown run.

Jones needed just four plays to find Croninger with a dramatic answer. The freshman wideout caught a ball between the corner and safety on the right wing and cut into the middle of the field. He picked up a block and outsprinted the rest of the secondary to the end zone.

“That was a huge turn,” Guyton said. “It was a back and forth game, but we felt like we had them right there. The defense just needed to hold for a minute and then try to win it in overtime, but we never got the chance.”

This story was originally published October 18, 2015 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Last-minute kick return dooms Devils on the road."