By JESSE HALEY Special to the Daily Press
Santa Monica High hadn’t beaten Peninsula High since they first faced each other in conference play in 1990.
Twelve years later, the Vikings mounted a remarkable fourth quarter comeback on Friday to win 27-20 on the Panthers’ homefield.
“We won a CIF championship (and) beat Venice 3 years in a row,” said Samohi coach Norm Lacey, listing his team’s recent accomplishments. “Peninsula, we’d never beat.”
In the first half it looked like Lacey might be right and Samohi would be in for a 13th Peninsula victory. The Vikings ran a total of 9 plays in the first half, and came up with 9 yards rushing, 22 yards passing and no points. “(Peninsula) played outstanding defense against the run,” said Lacey. “In the first half, we got in a little trouble.”
A roughing the punter penalty contributed to Samohi’s trials, giving the Panthers a first and 10 and rejuvenating a 17-play drive that would end with Peninsula ahead 6-0.
Peninsula missed the point after, but recovered the onside kick. The possession would end with a touchdown and successful extra point to make it 13-0 at the half.
Whatever Lacey said to his squad in the locker room must have rubbed off, because the Vikings came out strong in the third period. In its first possession, the team put together a 6-play drive, ending when Tyler Brunk caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from Ricky Johnson.
Samo missed the extra point, however, and the score was 13-6.
On its next possession, the Panthers answered with another touchdown after a 12-play drive to make the score 20-6. The Panther defense took the field charged up, stuffing Samo on three straight plays to force the fourth down before a holding call on the punt gave the Vikings a first down and new life.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, a fumble by tailback Adrian Gonzales gave the ball back to the Panthers with two minutes to play in the third quarter.
So again, it appeared Peninsula was in control, until Abraham Badillo caused a Panther fumble, which Zeido Hamze recovered for a key turnover.
On the team’s last offensive drive of the third quarter, Samo strung together 6 plays, culminating in Johnson’s 16-yard touchdown run, bringing the Vikings within eight, 20-12.
During Samo’s first series of the fourth, Lacey’s decision to go to the air paid off with a 42-yard pass from Johnson to wide receiver Paul Helmy, which put the ball at the 30-yard line.
With 3 minutes left, Johnson got away from the defense on a quarterback sneak and found the endzone. On the next play, Johnson found Helmy again for a two-point conversion to tie it up, 20-20.
Samo’s defense stopped Peninsula’s drive in their own territory, forcing a punt that left Samo with a first and 10 at their own 28 with one minute left on the clock.
The third and 10 play made the difference — a fake screen pass that sent Brunk deep for 74-yard touchdown reception, making it 27-20 Santa Monica.
The last minute saw two more interceptions, one off of Peninsula and one off of Samo, but the Vikings held on in the end to take home the victory.
For a team that relies primarily on the running of Gonzales, the Viking saw some uncharacteristically tailored passing in the win over the Panthers.
“Ricky’s got a heck of an arm,” said Lacey. “We’ve been snakebitten at certain times, dropping balls, but we’re getting closer.”
Gonzales rushed for 44 yards on 14 carries, while Helmy had 10 catches for 145 yards and no touchdowns. Johnson completed 12 of 17 for 201 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also rushed for 20 yards.
The standout player in this game was Brunk. The senior receiver had 2 catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns.
“If these kids want to win a league title they have to win three,” Lacey said. “If there not motivated to do that we’ll be sitting at home in four weeks.”
The Vikings, who are 1-1 in division play, face Hawthrone next week.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 30, 2002. Read the original PDF.