Jr. Midgets feeling ‘Super’

The Newport-Mesa Jr. Midget Seahawks (12-13-year-olds) overcame 27

unanswered points by the Norwalk-Santa Fe Springs Saints to earn a

29-27 victory in the Jr. All-American Football championship game

Saturday.Matt Barkley’s 34-yard field goal with 36 seconds remaining

gave the Seahawks (10-0) the victory. Seahawk safety Carlo Valdes

made an open-field tackle of Norwalk running back Melvin Richardson

at the Newport 15-yard line as time expired.

With the win the Seahawks earned the right to play the South

County Patriots in the Orange County Junior All-American Super Bowl

this Saturday at Rowland Heights High. A win Saturday and this year’s

Jr. Midget team would be the first Newport-Mesa Jr. All-American

squad to go undefeated through a season.

Newport opened a 20-0 lead in the first half on runs by Jacob

Gildart-Mathany, Matthew Garza and fullback Eric Rask, along with

passes from Barkley to wideout Robbie Boyer.

On the second play of the game Barkley threw for 5 yards to Boyer

in the flat. Boyer then lateraled to Gildart-Mathany, who eluded

three Saints’ tacklers and ran 45 yards into the end zone.

Rask, Patrick Marin-Finn and Brett Hanrahan, along with Valdes,

Boyer and Eric Heard, shut down the Saints’ attack and forced a

fumble, recovered by Marin-Finn.

Gildart-Matheny ran 55 yards for his second touchdown behind

blocking by center Justin Elbourn, linemen Corbin McNutt, Frankie

Russo, James McKennon II and Kevin Morgenstern, along with tight ends

Morgan Brombal and Max Stiegler. Barkley added another PAT for a 14-0

lead.

The Seahawks took a 20-0 lead late in the first quarter on a long

drive highlighted by a 28-yard run by Garza with blocks from Ryan

Lawler and Taylor McSunas. The drive was capped by Barkley’s 17-yard

TD toss to Boyer.

The Seahawks’ defense continued to stifle the Saints with

cornerbacks Austin Reiger and Tyler Harmon providing support.

Defensive linemen Alex Vollaire, Scott Chene, McNutt, Morgenstern,

Ricky Townsend, Josh Dill, Evan Livadas and Travis Prickett

controlled the Saints’ running game while linebackers Kevin Rask,

Hunter Alder and James Burger stopped runs up the middle.

But the Saints battled back and took a 27-20 lead in the fourth

quarter before Barkley hit Boyer for an 18-yard TD pass to cut the

lead to one point.

The Seahawks went for the two-point conversion, but the Saints’

defense stopped the rushing attempt at the 1 to maintain a one-point

lead.

With two minutes, 15 seconds remaining, Valdes executed an onside

kick and Heard recovered.

Barkley hit Valdes for an 8-yard gain and followed with a 30-yard

strike to Boyer, who caught the ball over two defenders.

The Saints stopped the Seahawks on three consecutive downs to

bring up fourth down on the 20 with 36 seconds remaining, setting up

Barkley’s game-winning field goal.