Morro Bay football falls short of comeback at CIF championship game. ‘A lot to be proud of’
The Morro Bay High School football team was hoping for a shot at redemption Friday night as it headed to a CIF championship game against Selma High School — but it just couldn’t quite make it.
Morro Bay went down early in the first half, but brought the game within one score in the fourth quarter.
However, Selma held on to take the 32-28 win in the CIF Central Section Division V championship game.
“I’m just so proud of how hard they work and how well they came together as a team and battled through everything,” head coach Robert Dougherty said. “I couldn’t be more proud of their effort. We just fell short a little bit here, but they shouldn’t hang their heads because they have a lot to be proud of.”
The Pirates (7-7) were the No. 4 seed and had the home over the No. 7 seed Bears (9-5).
Morro Bay football coach on loss: ‘Ultimately we ran out of time’
Selma used a consistent running attack the whole game and wore down the Pirates’ defense. All of their touchdowns except one came on the ground.
The Bears scored on a quarterback sneak with five minutes left in the first quarter, but Morro Bay senior John Meyers laid out to block the punt. The Pirates’ offense stalled on their first drive before Irvin Prieto ran 70 yards for a score for Selma. They missed the point after attempt and led 12-0 in the first quarter.
The Pirates got on the board when quarterback Sands Dougherty, who leads the state in passing yards, found James Nickel over the middle to bring the score to 12-7.
Immediately after Nickel’s score, Jacob Hernandez ran 55 yards for a quick score to put the Bears up 18-7.
Dougherty led a march down the field, including a scramble to gain a first down on a fourth down situation, but Hernandez made an interception on a pass intended for John Myers and returned the ball to Morro Bay’s 20-yard line.
Another quarterback sneak put the Bears ahead 25-7.
“(Selma) is a good team, and they’re hard to stop,” Robert Dougherty said, “We had our chances, but ultimately we ran out of time.”
The Pirates started to mount a comeback.
Sands Dougherty found Ryder Busch on a fade route with under 30 seconds remaining in the first half to cut the lead to 25-14. The Pirates kicked the ball off first and had the ball coming out of half.
Morro Bay turned to a unique formation where they had the linemen on the right side of the field and two blockers and receivers on the right side to cut the field in half. The Pirates found success in the tricky formation.
Dougherty connected to his top target, John Meyers, on a deep pass, which set up another touchdown from Ryder Busch, who finished with three touchdowns, to bring the score to 25-20
The Pirates’ defense started to generate stops, but couldn’t capitalize on one offensive drive when a field goal was blocked by Selma.
While the Pirates defense held Selma to one second half score, it came at a crucial moment. On a fourth down, Selma was forced to pass the ball. Tight end Braden Francis found himself wide open and hauled a 60-yard touchdown to give the Bears 32 points to the Pirates 20.
The Pirates quickly responded, and Dougherty connected with Myers in the back of the endzone. Myers also converted for two points.
Selma’s running game took time off the clock.
After a turnover on downs, the Pirates mounted a drive down the field with 45 seconds left but fell short.
Fans pack SLO County high school stands for championship game
Robert Dougherty said following the game it will be hard to replace the current team’s lineup of seniors next year.
“They’re a great bunch of kids not only in terms of talent, but also attitude and effort and all the intangibles that are the important things,” he said. “They’re going to be really hard to replace, but we’ve got a lot of young guys that are hungry and want to want to step up.”
Both teams saw major fan attendance for the game. Horns and cheering filled the air the entire game.
“People may say (Morro Bay) is not a football town, but I think it is,” Dougherty said. “We saw it tonight. We had great fan support. They cheered their butts off. We didn’t live up to our end, but we know that they love us no matter what and that they that they really care about Morro Bay football.”
This story was originally published November 30, 2024 at 12:07 AM.