Prep football: Terra Linda saves its season with Bell Game victory

Terra Linda quarterback Garrett Pardo and running back Jonah Truett were determined not to let their high school careers end with a loss to San Rafael in the Bell Game on Friday night.

The Trojans needed a win to become eligible for and secure their spot in next week’s North Coast Section playoffs and got it in stunning fashion. Truett swung the game with a pick six just before the half and Pardo scored two rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter as TL rallied for a 21-14 victory.

Pardo 4 yard run. TL ahead 21-14. 7:08 left. TL has to win to be playoff eligible #marinfootball pic.twitter.com/AkwAXV1hHR

— Ian Ross (@IRossMIJ) November 4, 2023

“It meant a lot,” Truett said of the season-extending victory. “It could have been my last game ever. I really didn’t want that. Football means everything to me. I was so excited. I felt good about this game. I knew we were the better team. I knew it was going to come together eventually and it finally happened. It’s such a big win for our program. This is going to be a huge key to helping our program build in future years as well.”

Terra Linda (5-5, 2-3 MCAL) entered the game eighth in the Division V rankings while San Rafael (5-5, 1-5) was sitting in fifth. The result could jumble up the bottom half of the D-V bracket, which also includes Justin-Siena and Sonoma Valley. The seeding meeting takes place on Sunday.

“At Terra Linda we haven’t played a lot of meaningful football, especially at the end of the year,” TL coach Joe Ayoob said. “So we weren’t shy in letting the kids know what was at stake tonight. First half was a little rough, I think four turnovers in the first quarter maybe, but they stuck with it and it was just really great to see the seniors pull together, come from behind and put a victory together.”

Indeed TL committed four turnovers in the first half – two each by Truett and Pardo – but only trailed 7-0 in the waning seconds of the second quarter.

TL got a sack to knock San Rafael back to its own 9-yard line with under 40 seconds to play in the half. The Bulldogs dropped back to pass on third down and Truett jumped the route for a game-tying touchdown that gave TL much-needed life going into the break.

“We have this thing called bulldog where we have to read run then if we see pass, we have to open up, look for the slot to run his hitch. So I did that and the quarterback just threw it right at me,” Truett said. “I got lucky. I just reacted, got lucky and scored the touchdown.”

San Rafael immediately seized momentum back when Samuel Gonzalez returned the opening kickoff of the second half 86 yards down to TL’s 1-yard line. It was Gonzalez’s third big play of the game after he carried the ball twice for 116 yards, including an 83-yard run for the game’s opening touchdown.

Three plays later, quarterback Quinn Madden found Oscar Jordan in the end zone for a 14-7 lead.

TL committed its fifth turnover of the game on the next drive – an interception thrown by Pardo – and San Rafael appeared ready to gain some separation when Madden hit tight end Conrad Chick for a 30-yard gain to TL’s 10-yard line. Defensive back Jackson Scollan was able to rip the ball away and give the Trojans the ball back.

“I think I was blitzing that play,” Truett said. “I saw that catch and I was pretty nervous but (Scollan) is one of our best athletes. He’s one of the fastest guys on the team and he’s really clutch. He can make a play at any time. I saw him rip it out and I was pretty confident that he had it.”

The wild swings in momentum continued on TL’s ensuing drive. The Trojans dialed up a trick play during which Pardo threw a lateral to Edy Ramos, who immediately was looking to throw the ball downfield. Truett got open behind the defense but was unable to bring in the catch.

Pardo gained 10 yards on the next play but was flagged for hurdling a San Rafael defender. Rather than accept the penalty, San Rafael forced TL into a fourth-and-5 but then jumped offside to give the Trojans a fresh set of downs.

Pardo made the most of the second chance, eventually capping the drive with a 1-yard touchdown on the opening play of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 14-14.

TL’s defense forced a three-and-out and the Trojans needed just four plays to take the lead for good – two Truett runs, a 29-yard pass from Pardo to Scollan, then a 4-yard scoring run by Pardo to make it 21-14.

Not only did the victory make TL eligible for NCS, it snapped San Rafael’s two-game win streak in the series. TL had won the previous 18 meetings, starting with a victory when Ayoob was the team’s quarterback in 2002.

“I shared a memory with the guys that my junior year we lost (to San Rafael) on a field goal,” Ayoob said. “The following week we got matched up with them in NCS and we beat them that week then my senior year we were up 40-0 at halftime. I told the guys ‘You will remember this game for the rest of your lives’.”

Terra Linda 21, San Rafael 14

MCAL

Terra Linda 0 7 0 14 – 21

San Rafael 7 0 7 0 – 14

SCORING SUMMARY

SR–Gonzalez 83 run (Pilla kick)

TL–Truett 14 interception (Kokalis kick)

SR–Jordan 8 pass from Madden (Pilla kick)

TL–Pardo 1 run (Kokalis kick)

TL-Pardo 4 run (Kokalis kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–TL, Truett 25-143, Pardo 12-61, Pattani 2-29, Ramos 1-(minus-5). Totals 40-228. SR, Gonzalez 5-115, Shipley 5-32, Jordan 6-5, C. Chick 1-5, Madden 4-(minus-9). Totals 21-148.

PASSING–TL, Pardo 6-11-2 85. SR, Madden 8-10-0 80. Miller 1-2-1 1. Sacks 5-(minus-27). Totals 9-12-1 54.

RECEIVING–TL, Melniczek 2-43, Scollan 1-29, Pierce 1-8, Pattani 2-5. Totals 6-85. SR, Chick 3-67, Jordan 1-8, Gonzalez 2-4, Berlinsky 3-2. Totals 9-81.

Records–Terra Linda 5-5, 2-3. San Rafael 5-5, 1-5.