Windsor High's unlikely football playoff run ends in title game loss to Campolindo

PLEASANT HILL - Windsor’s season of unexpected thrills was in full gear early in the second quarter of the North Coast Section Division 2 championship game.

No one had expected the Jaguars to play well enough to secure the No. 2 seed in the section playoffs, but they had. Some probably doubted their ability to reach the title game, but they did. And when speedy Marcell Sands turned a bobbling catch into a 44-yard touchdown just 1:46 into the second period Friday night at Diablo Valley College, Windsor had a 13-6 lead against heavy favorite Campolindo.

Then the magic ran out.

The top-seeded Cougars scored 28 unanswered points in the second and third periods and won 40-20, wrapping up their third consecutive NCS championship. (The previous two came in Division 3.) Campolindo will now attempt to reach a CIF state title game for the third consecutive year.

There were a few tears in the Windsor scrum afterward, but mostly the Jaguars left with a feeling of accomplishment.

“We’ve come so far as a team,” coach Tom Kirkpatrick said. “At the beginning we weren’t together. They’ve grown so much.”

Quarterback Kobe Roman agreed. “If we thought about it Week 3, none of us would have known we’d be here,” he said. “We didn’t even play as a team. We were against each other, it was basically seniors versus juniors. We got to about Week 7 and we clicked as a team, really came together and showed what we could do. We peaked right at the right point.”

Against an accomplished program like Campolindo, the Jaguars knew they’d have to hit some big plays to have a chance. They did exactly that in the early going. On their first possession, Roman dropped back after a play-action fake on third-and-5 and threw deep to Patrick Tappin for a stunning 55-yard touchdown. Windsor’s 2-point conversion try failed, but the underdogs had a 6-0 lead.

And after Campolindo tied it with a couple field goals, the Roman-to-Sands strike put the Jags up by a touchdown.

The Cougars came back, fueled in part by a couple of big Windsor penalties to keep drives alive. With about 7½ minutes left in the second quarter, a Campolindo possession stalled at the Jaguars’ 9 and the Cougars missed a field-goal attempt, but Windsor was called for roughing the kicker.

“That play was huge. But it was an effort play,” Kirkpatrick said.

Given a new set of downs, Campo quarterback Jacob Westphal connected with John Torchio on a nice back-shoulder throw for a touchdown that tied the game 13-13.

Windsor countered with a 79-yard drive, only to see Olin Piotter’s 27-yard field-goal try miss by inches. Campolindo got the ball back with 2:04 on the clock and Westphal led a crisp march down the field, hitting 6 of 8 passes for 65 yards. Linebacker Brett Stibi sacked him on third-and-7 from the Jaguars’ 15-yard line, but a teammate was called for defensive holding. This time, Westphal cashed in with a fade pass to Vincent Mossotti that put the Cougars up 20-13.

Campolindo isn’t the sort of team you want to award with second chances.

The Cougars dominated the third quarter and padded their lead to 34-13. One of their two scores in the third quarter was a double pass, Westphal to Torchio to the wide-open Lev Garcia, that covered 53 yards.

The Jaguars didn’t turn over the ball in the first half, one reason they stuck so close to the No. 1 seed. But of their four final possessions, two ended with giveaways - a fumble by David Escarcega that was recovered by Campolindo’s Grant Larsen, and an interception of Roman’s pass by the Cougars’ Michael Hooper.

That was one of Roman’s few mistakes. The senior, who will play baseball at Santa Rosa JC next year, finished 12 of 19 for 223 yards and three touchdowns. The production was much needed on a night when the Jaguars, normally a strong ground team, had troubled running the ball against Campolindo.

“They play kind of a soft front, reading a lot,” Kirkpatrick said. “Their (line)backers are very quick. I mean, I’m impressed we were able to throw the ball the way we did.”

It was hard to keep pace with Westphal, though. He completed 20 of 36 passes for 288 yards and four touchdowns, without an interception.

In the first half he went over 3,000 yards for the season. Westphal had three receivers with 80-plus yards Friday, paced by Garcia, who wound up with 118 on four catches.

There was no shame in losing to high-powered Campolindo. Even with the sting of the defeat still fresh, the Jaguars knew that.

“Obviously we’re proud of what we did, proud of what we accomplished while we were here,” running back Jackson Baughman said. “We didn’t stop fighting till the end.”

You can reach staff writer Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Skinny_Post.