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VALENCIA — St. Pius running back Myles Chancellor had his head down and his feet churning. He was sure to cross the plane of the West Ranch end zone on a 1-yard plunge on fourth down.
As a pushing scrum formed, it seemed like a blanket of silence hushed both sidelines. The anticipated result of the play was going to be a touchdown or a goal-line stand.
Neither one happened.
West Ranch’s Connor Reyes stuck his two hands into Chancellor’s torso and ripped the ball away before scampering for a 99-yard touchdown to score the game’s first points. It was a 14-point swing.
“I really wasn’t planning to take the ball,” Reyes said. “I just saw it among the chaos and took the opportunity.”
West Ranch never looked back and added another win to its historic season with a 42-21 victory over St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs Friday night.
“Even though it was super early in the game, It was a huge momentum swing,” West Ranch quarterback Ryan Staub said.
St. Pius coach Devah Thomas thought Chancellor crossed the goal line.
“He was in. That was bad officiating. It really changed the game and we had to play catch up,” he said.
The Wildcats (11-0) will host Upland – 23-22 winners over Tesoro – in the quarterfinals next week. St. Pius finishes its season 8-2.
The Wildcats’ defense starred by forcing three turnovers including a blocked punt that set up Staub’s first touchdown pass of the night to Maverick Diaz to make it 21-0 after taking a 14-0 lead into halftime.
Staub finished with four touchdowns (two passing, two running). He threw for 243 yards and ran for 76 yards. Chaz Hilst had eight receptions for 116 yards and a score.
St. Pius burst three touchdowns in the second half, but it came much too late. Quarterback Dieter Barr connected with Frank Childs before finding Jordan Shaw on a 51-yarder that cut into West Ranch’s lead, 28-13.
“It’s hard to score fast and stop an offense like that,” Thomas said of St. Pius trying to come back.
Staub broke for a 49-yard touchdown run from midfield on fourth and 1 take back control of the game. It was a gutsy play call that paid off. A failure to conver would have given St. Pius the ball down just two scores with 8:51 left in the game.
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“Sometimes you need big plays like that to win games,” Staub said. “I was really just trying to get 1 yard and it turned into a touchdown.”
Barr hit Shaw on the ensuing possession for an 81-yard score, but it was moot. Barr finished the game with 254 yards passing and three touchdowns. Shaw tallied 176 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
West Ranch’s unbeaten season continues, its first in program history after also capturing the program’s first Foothill League title earlier this fall. However, West Ranch’s deepest playoff run was set in 2019 when it reached the semifinals in Division 7.