El Capitan loses a heartbreaker

El Capitan was 12 yards from the end zone, the heart the Vaqueros displayed all football season about to be rewarded with a Division III state championship.

But the storybook finish to a perfect season was ripped away, replaced with heartbreak in an instant that seemed like an eternity.

“Slow motion” was how El Capitan coach Ron Burner described what it’s like when your brain can’t process what is unfolding before your eyes.

An El Capitan fumble was returned 85 yards for a game-winning touchdown by Moraga Campolindo’s Adam Remotto in the game’s final minute Saturday afternoon in a 35-28 victory over the Vaqueros at the StubHub Center.

El Capitan (14-1) saw a three-touchdown third-quarter lead vanish but was still in position to pull out the win.

The Vaqueros’ Isaiah Capoocia took a handoff at Campolindo’s 12-yard line and cut upfield when the Cougars’ Tyler Petite hit him high and Tiger Garcia hit him low. The ball popped out, right to Remotto, who raced the other way.

“It was a gift,” said Remotto. “I just picked it up and started running. That sealed the deal. It felt like I was on a spaceship. Out of this world.”

Said Capoocia: “The ball got knocked loose and they took advantage of it.”

“There’s no one to blame on this,” said El Capitan quarterback Brad Cagle. “It’s a whole team effort. It’s heartbreaking how far we made it, all the hard work we’ve put in for this.”

Cagle called it “a tragedy,” which may be overstating things a bit, but that’s how you feel when you’re so close to a state title you can taste it.

Cagle was the closest El Capitan player giving pursuit to Remotto on the fumble.

On a broken foot.

Cagle was carried from the field at halftime, sidelined after he suffered what was believed to be a bone chip in his right ankle when he was tackled on a running play.

He stayed in the game for one more play, long enough to throw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Joey LaChappa to make it 7-7 with 4:32 remaining in the first half.

It was announced in the press box that Cagle was done for the day, but he followed his teammates out of the tunnel for the second half — they jogged, he walked — with his ankle heavily wrapped and covered with a brace.

“I wasn’t going to let myself sit out,” said Cagle.

In the third quarter, El Capitan shocked Campolindo during a four-minute span in which the Vaqueros turned a tie game into a 28-7 lead.

Cagle’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Francis Lima provided a 14-7 advantage.

Then Capoocia blocked a 36-yard field goal attempt on Campolindo’s next possession and teammate Sam Melero returned it 80 yards for a touchdown.

Finally, Capoocia scored on a 13-yard run with 2:32 remaining in the period after Campolindo failed to get a punt away after a bad snap.

The momentum swung to Campolindo (16-0) just as suddenly.

The Cougars stormed back with touchdowns on three straight possessions, drawing even 28-28 on a 14-yard pass from quarterback Jack Stephens to Max Flower with 4:32 to play. It was the fourth TD pass of the game for Stephens, who completed 19 of 32 passes for 291 yards.

That set the stage for El Capitan’s final drive. This was easily the greatest team in the school’s 55-year history, the first to win a section championship and Southern California Regional title. But the Vaqueros wanted to cap it with a state crown.

They came that close.

Sitting on the sideline bench moments after the game, eyes misty as he tried to hold his head up, Cagle somehow remained philosophical.

“We all love each other and we’re not going to get down on anybody,” he said. “Things happen and life goes on. ...

“You never know which way the football’s going to bounce. That’s why they make it the shape that it is.”