Nicholas Echeverry kicks Servite to state title

Nicholas Echeverry wasn’t even the best kicker on his own team for much of the season.

The senior had not attempted a field goal during Anaheim Servite’s four playoff games because he had lost out in weekly practice competitions with junior Connor Loftus. There were times when it seemed as if he might not get another chance.

“I kept telling him, ‘You never know, man,’ ” Friars special teams coach Ken Foersch said. “He was at his wits’ end, but he really stuck with it.”

Echeverry’s dedication paid off in a big way Saturday evening at the Home Depot Center when he converted all four field-goal attempts, including a 23-yarder with no time remaining to give Servite a 33-30 victory over Rocklin in the CIF state championship Division II bowl game.

“I was never so nervous in my entire life,” said Echeverry, who also made field goals from 47, 39 and 43 yards. “I’ve dreamed about this moment for a long time.”

Echeverry’s heroics became necessary after Rocklin stormed back from a 30-10 third-quarter deficit with 20 unanswered points to tie the score with 8:51 left in the game on Jackson Cummings’ one-yard touchdown run. Cummings finished with 159 yards and two touchdowns in 29 carries.

Servite (14-1) appeared on the verge of a go-ahead score when it drove to the Thunder’s three-yard line on its ensuing drive, but tailback Jody Thomas fumbled and Rocklin (14-1) recovered.

The Thunder gave the ball back two plays later, however, when quarterback Tiger Sorenson threw the ball up for grabs and Servite defensive back Jordan Jones intercepted the pass at the Rocklin 27-yard line with 1:51 remaining.

The Friars reached the six-yard line and let the clock dwindle to two seconds, setting up Echeverry’s final attempt.

“I had a ton of confidence in him,” said Servite quarterback Cody Fajardo, who completed 12 of 21 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 82 yards. “The distance wasn’t as deep, so I knew he was like 100% from that area.”

Echeverry went into the season as the Friars’ No. 1 kicker, but Coach Troy Thomas opened up the position to weekly competition after Echeverry missed a practice.

“The first time we did it, Nicholas came back and said, ‘Coach, my heart was pounding so bad,’ ” Foersch said.

Echeverry hadn’t been the Friars’ starting kicker since Trinity League play, but he was more than ready in the final seconds Saturday.

“I’ve practiced a lot and imagined it a lot in my head,” Echeverry said. “I just felt like I was ready and it was all or nothing at that point.”

ben.bolch@latimes.com