Windsor's 4th Quarter Comeback Sinks Concord in NCS Finals

Windsor 28, Concord 20

The Stars: Concord running back Olito Thompson broke an NCS single game rushing record for carries with 54 rushing attempts for 285 yards. He also set the Northern California record for rushing yards in a season with 3,488 yards, breaking the record set by Salesian’s Jahvid Best of 3,224. The Minutemen also had a clutch contribution from receiver Jacob Smith, who hauled in seven passes for 89 yards and a 28-yard touchdown. Smith scored a second touchdown on defense, scooping up a fumble and returning it 39 yards for the score.

The Turning Point: Concord entered the locker room with a commanding 13 point advantage and all of the momentum. They had scored 20 unanswered, second quarter points, recovered two on-sides kicks and seemed to have Thompson on the verge of breaking free (like at Las Lomas when he went for 457 yards). But then came the second half and Windsor’s defense turned up the heat. The Jaguars stacked the box and took away Concord’s running room. While Concord sputtered, the Jaguars offense started to click. They opened the scoring in the second stanza with a 30-yard touchdown catch by Trey Tobon from Christian McAlvain. They followed that up with two more rushing scores by Darrian Roman and when the dust settled, the team had tallied 21 unanswered second half points to push past Concord for the win. 

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Windsor High came from behind in the fourth quarter to score the NCS title-clinching touchdown and in turn broke the hearts of Concord High coaches, players and faithful.

The Minutemen saw their dream run and back-to-back NCS Division II title aspirations come up just short, 28-20, to the Jaguars on a brisk Friday evening in Santa Rosa.

Concord’s Olito Thompson was relentless and pounded the Windsor defense 54 times for 285 yards.

However, even under intense pressure from Thompson and company, the Jaguar defense never wilted. In fact, the deeper into the contest, the stronger they got.

“I am proud of the job our defense did,” said Windsor running back and linebacker Darrian Roman. “They executed perfectly throughout the whole game. Our plan against (Thompson) was to keep outside contain and he’s fast so we wanted to force him inside. When he ran inside, he hesitated in the backfield and allowed our middle linebackers the opportunity to fly up the field and make the tackle.”

Thompson, who tallied more than 1,000 yards in Concord’s first three playoff games, was a marked man.

“I give all the credit to their defense,” said Concord coach Brian Hamilton.

Windsor crowded the line of scrimmage with as many as nine defenders waiting for the next Thompson run.

“Our whole defense surrounded him every time he touched the ball,” said Roman who punished Thompson at every opportunity with violent hits from his linebacker position.

The Minutemen had Windsor reeling in the second quarter. They tied the score on a beautiful, 28-yard, over the shoulder catch by Jason Smith from Wyatt Morrow and took the lead with Thompson’s successful two-point conversion.

In typical Concord fashion, they followed up with an on-sides kick, which caught the Jaguars by surprise and was recovered by the Minutemen’s Tyler Colby. 

No less than 30 seconds later, Thompson bust through the middle and spun off a defender and into the clear for a 35-yard touchdown, pushing the Concord lead to 14-7.

Again, the Minutemen successfully recovered an onsides kick, but this time they were unable to capitalize after turning the ball over on a fumble. However, Windsor quickly returned the favor on a muddled quarterback handoff that ended up on the turf and was picked up and returned 39 yards for a score by Smith.

But the second half was a completely different story as Windsor started to steal the momentum.

“They came out of halftime and made adjustments and played extremely fast,” said Hamilton. “We did not do enough with our opportunities in the second half when we had the ball. We were right there with the team we played tonight and came up just short.”

The Jaguars scored three unanswered second half touchdowns, including the go ahead dive by Roman with six minutes remaining to hold off a furious Concord charge.

Roman keyed the Jags offense with 20 rushes for 187 yards and three touchdowns.

The Minutemen simply could not finish any of their second half chances. With 11 minutes remaining, they had a drive stopped on the Jaguars one-yard line.

Concord also had a chance to tie, down eight with 2:06 remaining, but turned the ball over on downs after their drive stalled in Windsor territory.

Even in defeat, Hamilton was proud of his players.

“These guys embody everything we work for,” said Hamilton.  “This is the culmination of having a bunch of guys who believe. They are a special group.”

Hamilton over the years has built a program that resembles much more of a family than a football team. And that family backbone has been a key component in Concord’s incredible two-year run, which comes in the face of unprecedented budget cuts to the Mt. Diablo school district and their sports teams. The Minutemen played with only 25 players and limited equipment.

“You let them know you love them,” said Hamilton of developing a tight knit family atmosphere. “You let them know that is why you do it and that you genuinely love them and want the best for them.”

Concord’s charges trudged off the field many moved to tears, but not Thompson.

“We will not let this bring our heads down. There will be a next year and we will be ready,” said Thompson, a junior. “We do not believe in giving up. I am thankful for having this great team that helped me to achieve all of these accomplishments. I did not carry this team on my back. There is not just one player on this team, there are eleven guys and all together we made it (to the title game) as the underdog.”

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Concord          0          20        0            0—          20

Windsor          0          7          7          14—          28

Scoring summary
10:12, 1st:  W — Roman 2 run (McAlvain kick)

5:42, 2nd:  C — Smith 28 pass from Morrow (O. Thompson run)

4:54, 2nd:  C — O. Thompson 35 run (run failed)

2:33, 2nd:  C — Smith 39 fumble return (run failed)

3:38, 3rd:  W — Tobon 30 pass from McAlvain (McAlvain kick)

6:02, 4th:  W — Roman 1 run (McAlvain kick)

2:13, 4th:  W — Roman 63 run (McAlvain kick)

Records:  Concord 10-4. Windsor 14-0.

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