Morro Bay wins CIF-Central Section championship, upsetting No. 1 seed
Morro Bay was the last 11-man San Luis Obispo County football team standing the CIF-Central Section playoffs this year — and now the Pirates can call themselves champions.
The small school team that showed resilience throughout the season upset No. 1 Taft to win a tight road contest 35-33 and secure the Division 6 title game.
Morro Bay dominated much of the game on Nov. 26 and took a 35-6 lead into the the fourth quarter, only to see Taft rally back.
Taft had a chance to tie on a two-point conversation at the end, but the Pirates’ Shawn Shaffer made the game-winning tackle on a quarterback keeper to secure the victory, Coach Jake Goossen-Brown said.
“The players are really excited,” said Goossen-Brown. “I don’t think anyone would have guessed that Morro Bay would have an opportunity to win the CIF title, and they were able to get it done.”
Goossen-Brown added: “They’ve been able to fight back from a lot, and I don’t think I don’t think a lot of people have ever thought much of Morro Bay. And these kids are helping to turn that around.”
Junior quarterback Nicky Johnson threw for four touchdowns, and senior running back Dylan Turner rushed for a score.
Johnson’s touchdown tosses included an 18-yarder to Christian Merrill, 11-yard and 21-yard connections to Turner, and a 22-yard strike to Noah Howard, according to MaxPreps.com. That was Howard’s first high school touchdown, Goossen-Brown said.
“(Receiver) Manny Diaz also came up with about four clutch catches,” Goossen-Brown said. “He hasn’t caught very many balls the whole year. He had for four or five big plays for us on offense.”
The Pirates held a 28-6 lead at halftime, looking like they might cruise to an easy win.
But they had to fend off 27 unanswered fourth-quarter points from the Wildcats, who almost pulled off an epic comeback before coming up just short as the clock ticked to zero.
“We kind of took our foot off the gas probably too much is what it came down to,” Goossen-Brown said. “It was a great defensive stop as at the end. Our defense played great in the first half, too, so we want to look at the film and see what went on, but they did a good job.”
The win marks a major accomplishment for the program that made a dramatic turnaround from last year’s 1-4 spring record under its core group of leaders and Goossen-Brown, who credited his team of coaches for a superb group effort to help guide the players.
The No. 2-seeded Pirates (7-6) continued to improve throughout the season with a team known for its electric passing game led by their junior quarterback, Johnson, and a sturdy ground attack behind Turner, a senior running back.
“These players who are the seniors this year have been phenomenal leaders, and they bought into me when I came in their sophomore year. They believed what we could become, and they worked really, really hard,” Goossen-Brown said. “I demand a lot of them, and they’ve risen to every occasion.”
The Pirates hit the reset button in a big way after losing big in two of their last three regular season games, a 60-3 defeat to Mission Prep and a 34-0 loss to Atascadero.
After the loss to the Royals, Turner remained on the field in frustration to do wind sprints, a sign of determination after a difficult loss.
But in the playoffs, the Pirates mustered all of their will, skill and flair for the dramatic to win three straight games, each within three points.
Morro Bay beat East Bakersfield 36-33 on the road, then Pioneer Valley 29-26 at home, and finally, in the closest of them all, the 35-33 win over Taft, on a dry, cold night in front of hundreds.
The Pirates move on to host a state regional game at their stadium in Morro Bay at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Loara of Anaheim.
This story was originally published November 26, 2021 at 11:14 PM.
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