NorCal football: Why this was greatest night in short history of regional championships

The high school football playoffs in California are far from perfect and might never be perfect. But the format is set up to have the type of drama that unfolded Friday.

It doesn’t always turn out as planned. But when it does … wow.

Simply put, Friday was the greatest night in the short history of the regional championships.

From stunning comebacks and gutsy play calls to game-deciding goal-line stops and winning field goals, the night had it all.

When it ended, Pittsburg found a way to get its revenge against powerhouse Folsom, St. Francis and Acalanes did everything but win and Amador Valley rallied in the fourth quarter at McClymonds to keep its improbable journey going.

“We just had to prove what we already knew,” Pittsburg quarterback Marley Alcantara said.

In a working-class town that eats and breathes high school football, Pittsburg will chisel Dec. 6, 2024 into its Mount Rushmore of historical victory dates, right alongside the Dec. 7, 1991.

No, beating Folsom did not match the Pirates’ section championship win over De La Salle 33 years ago — still DLS’s last loss to a North Coast Section opponent — but it is definitely in the same area code.

Maybe they’ll simply refer to this one as The Comeback Game because what a comeback it was.

Before Pittsburg even got a first down, the visiting juggernaut from the Sac-Joaquin Section and its state-player-of-the-year quarterback Ryder Lyons led by three touchdowns.

But this Pittsburg team has a special intangible about it under alum/second-year head coach Charlie Ramirez that matches the talent it brings to the field — and let’s be clear, there is incredible talent on the Pittsburg side.

Talent alone doesn’t win at the highest level, though.

In championship games like Friday’s, against an opponent as skilled and successful as Folsom, it takes more than great players to survive.

Pittsburg had to find a way to punch back before the deficit became too large to overcome — and punch it did. The Pirates scored two touchdowns before halftime to cut the deficit to seven, then two more to take the lead.

From there, Pittsburg held on, stopping a two-point attempt with a little more than two minutes to go that would have reclaimed the advantage for Folsom and then made another stop after the visitors forced a punt.

In the biggest game of the season to date, Pittsburg’s big-time players — led by the courageous and gifted Alcantara — stepped up and avenged a 28-25 loss at Folsom in last year’s Division 1-A regional title game.

The thrill of victory Pittsburg celebrated was not shared by St. Francis and Acalanes, though certainly not for a lack of trying.

St. Francis coach Greg Calcagno went for two — and the potential victory — with 83 seconds on the clock at home against Grant-Sacramento and his players delivered.

The Lancers went ahead 30-29, only to watch Grant drive down the field and make a short field goal with 5.7 seconds left for the 32-30 win.

“I’m just proud of how my guys fought tonight,” said St. Francis star running back Kingston Keanaaina, who overcame a shoulder injury to play.

Acalanes, a team that had done nothing but prevail in playoff games since the start of last year’s postseason, had another victory in its sights when coach Floyd Burnsed gave the green light for a two-point play with no time on the clock against undefeated Carmel.

The visitors from Lafayette had just cut the margin to 42-41 on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Winkles to Niko White as time expired.

Winkles kept the ball himself on the two point-play and seemed destined for the end zone as he made the turn around the right side.

But Carmel defensive back Simeon Brown made a jarring tackle at the goal line to end Acalanes’ quest to capture regional and state championships for the second consecutive season.

“I saw the quarterback come through the gap and I just filled it,” Brown told the Monterey Herald. “I’m just excited. We’re going to state.”

Amador Valley is going to a state championship game after it turned a five-point deficit through three quarters into a 44-33 victory over McClymonds, securing its first appearance in a state final.

Moreau Catholic also is going to a state title game after it turned the California Interscholastic Federation’s competitive-equity playoff model upside down, rolling at home in Hayward over Leland 42-11.

Thankfully, that one-sided result was an outlier on a Friday night that won’t soon be forgotten.

“I don’t know how much people paid to get in, but it was probably worth it,” St. Francis’ Calcagno said after his team’s season ended.