San Ramon Valley brings youth, confidence to its first state title game
In one of the biggest moments in the school’s football history, San Ramon Valley asked its junior kicker to send the team to a state championship.
Pelted by rain and with only 18 seconds on the clock, Austin Shelton split the uprights from 37 yards away to win a Northern California title.
Without that kick, the Wolves would not be making the trip to Mission Viejo for the Division 2-A state title game Saturday against Granite Hills-El Cajon.
As Shelton ran down the field in celebration last weekend, the entire San Ramon Valley team joyously chased after him.
“To make a game-winning kick was a dream ever since I was a kid,” Shelton said after the Wolves beat Marin Catholic 19-17. “I was like, ‘Let’s go win this and go to state.’”
If the state championship comes down to a pressure kick, coach Aaron Becker and the entire team knows they have a guy capable of coming through.
“I have 100 percent faith in Austin,” receiver Zack Dodson said.
Shelton is just one of the strengths of a junior class that includes quarterback Luke Baker, top rusher John Pau Mendoza, and second-leading receiver Dodson.
The young team began the season with five consecutive wins but then lost two in a row.
The losses obviously did not derail the Wolves, who have won seven in a row since then, including playoff victories against previously undefeated Campolindo and Marin Catholic on their way to a state final.
“I’m really excited because this was the goal and we achieved it,” Pau Mendoza said.
Baker, who had eaten his lucky sandwich a few hours before the NorCal game, did not rely on good fortune to lead the Wolves into field-goal range for Shelton’s game-winner. On third-and-10 from SRV’s 30, the quarterback threw a pinpoint pass to Dodson for 33 yards.
A few snaps later, Shelton won the game.
Baker, who battled the elements Saturday night, would prefer calmer conditions Saturday.
“Hopefully it’s sunny down there and we can get the offense rolling,” he said.
The forecast shows a slim chance of rain Saturday in Mission Viejo.
Owen Scott, a sophomore who blocked a fourth-quarter Marin Catholic kick that set the stage for Shelton’s field goal, was beaming Saturday night when he claimed the Wolves have a special chemistry.
“We’re going to try to carry the momentum we have into this weekend,” Scott said. “We’ve just clicked in school this year.”
Becker didn’t want to make too big a deal about the team’s young core. He credited the upperclassmen for allowing the younger players to take large roles.
Plus, the coach said the young players aren’t all that young at this point in the season.
“They’ve played so many games that they’re not really juniors anymore,” Becker added.
Sophomore linebacker Marco Jones, the team’s top tackler, wants to send the seniors out with a state championship.
“We know this is their last year,” Jones said, “so why not help them go out with a bang?”
SAN RAMON VALLEY VS. GRANITE HILLS
What: CIF Division 2-A state championship
Where: Saddleback College, Mission Viejo
When: Saturday, 12 p.m.
Stream: NFHS network
Storylines: Both schools are playing in their first state championship game. … Granite Hills (12-2) defeated Etiwanda 41-21 in the SoCal 2-A championship. … Granite Hills is a run-heavy team that has attempted only 218 passes in 14 games. … According to stats reported to MaxPreps, SRV quarterback Luke Baker ranks seventh in the state with 3,548 passing yards. He has thrown for 44 touchdowns. … Granite Hills defensive back Easton Peterson is tied for sixth in the state with eight interceptions. … San Ramon Valley has also run for at least 200 yards in three of its four playoff games, and the team ran for 195 in its NCS championship win over Campolindo. … Calpreps’com computer says Granite Hills will prevail 34-28.