Bishop Amat scores 17 unanswered points to beat Sierra Canyon 31-28 in double overtime

CHATSWORTH, Calif. — Bishop Amat had every reason to give up.

The Lancers trailed Sierra Canyon 28-14 at halftime after not getting a single defensive stop. They were without head coach Steve Hagerty and senior running back Aiden Ramos who were suspended following last week's postgame handshake altercation with Damien.

But the Lancers never folded and somehow managed to win 31-28 in double overtime.

"Our kids just kept fighting," defensive coordinator Sean Koelle said. He served as Bishop Amat's co-head coach along with offensive coordinator Zach Hagerty in Steve Hagerty's absence.

Senior kicker Isaac Ochoa was the hero for the Lancers on Friday. During the second period of the second overtime, Ochoa made a 34-yard field goal to win. Prior to Ochoa's make, Sierra Canyon missed three kicks which would have broken the 28-28 tie: a 42-yarder with 47 seconds left in the fourth quarter, a 38-yarder which would have won the game in the first overtime session and a 30-yarder in the second overtime session.

"It was just another kick," Ochoa said of his game-winner. "I hit those kicks all the time."

Bishop Amat improved to 5-1 with the win while Sierra Canyon fell to 2-4. 

Below are four observations from an epic Mission League opener.

COMEBACK KIDS

Bishop Amat looked dead in the water. 

Trailing 28-14 with 10:50 to play, Sierra Canyon had the ball at its own 9-yard line. On a 3rd-down, junior quarterback Damon Wrighster threw a ball to the left sideline that Bishop Amat cornerback Brandyn Wetherspoon undercut, picked off and returned 17 yards for a touchdown to give the Lancers life.

Sierra Canyon punted on its next possession with sophomore Alonzo Esparza under center — Esparza and Wrighster rotated each every series for the Trailblazers. On the ensuing Bishop Amat drive, sophomore quarterback Frankie Villalbazo connected with Delano Franklin for a 38-yard TD to tie the game at 28-28 with 5:40 left.

Villalbazo, a sit out period transfer who was eligible for his first game, was always going to play on Friday, according to the Bishop Amat coaches, but he got more time than expected in the second half due to starter Richie Munoz picking up an injury.

"Frankie did a great job for us tonight," Koelle said. "He made some big throws for us."

On Sierra Canyon's next possession, the Trailblazers drove to the 25-yard line before missing the 42-yard field goal with 47 seconds left. 

In the first overtime period, Bishop Amat had two chances to score from the six inch line on 3rd-and-goal and 4th-and-goal, but couldn't convert on two runs up the gut from junior Stacy Bey. The defensive stand gave Sierra Canyon all of the momentum, but the two straight missed field goals following the stop deflated the Trailblazers. After Ochoa's make, multiple Sierra Canyon players fell to the ground in disbelief. 

TOP PERFORMERS

Class of 2023 BYU commit Jojo Phillips caught Sierra Canyon's first touchdown of the night, a 28-yarder from Esparza to open the scoring. Phillips also threw the Trailblazers third touchdown to sophomore Dane Dunn on a 17-yard trick play. Senior receiver Lavon Brown, a Colorado State commit, caught the other two Sierra Canyon TDs.

Munoz had more success as a runner than a passer before his injury. He scored the first Bishop Amat touchdown with his legs from six yards out to make the score 14-7 early in the second quarter.

With 1:58 to go in the first half, Bey scored a nine-yard touchdown on the ground to cut the Sierra Canyon lead to 21-14. Bey, who also plays linebacker, was arguably the Lancers top player.

Wetherspoon, Franklin and Ochoa's contributions were crucial to the Bishop Amat comeback win as well. 

AMAT OVERCOMES THE LOSS OF HAGERTY TO WIN

Even though Hagerty wasn't present on Friday, Koelle still gave his head coach credit for the win. 

"Steve has built a great staff," Koelle said. "Having the support system that he has put in place for us, he's just implemented so much for us. When we had our opportunity, he's gifted us with that."

SIERRA CANYON'S MISSION LEAGUE OPENER SPOILED

For the entirety of the first half and most of the second half, Sierra Canyon looked primed to win its first ever Mission League game in its first ever opportunity. The Trailblazers made the move to the Mission League from the Gold Coast League in the offseason.

Not scoring a single point in the second half and both overtime periods ultimately doomed the Trailblazers though. 

“The fashion in which we are losing this year is uncommon for this program,” Sierra Canyon head coach Ellinghouse told Tarek Fattal of the Daily News earlier this month.

Friday's defeat dropped the Trailblazers to 2-4 on the year. In a game where they led by 14 points in the fourth quarter, the Amat loss will go down as another "uncommon" defeat.