There was no time left on the clock. South Gate trailed by a point with the ball on the Marquez 39-yard line.
Quarterback Michael Gonzalez said there was only one play to call — the “everybody go deep play.”
Incredibly, it worked. He threw the ball up for his receivers to try to catch it in the end zone, and Nicholas Fonseca came down with the winning touchdown for a 63-58 victory over Marquez in the City Section Division I championship game Saturday at Southwest College.
South Gate is the same team that lost in the City Division II final last season in another wild ending in which the Rams took a safety with one second left, then botched an onside kick and lost on a 32-yard field goal by Chatsworth on the final play.
All week Gonzalez said the coaches were preaching the lesson learned from last season.
“Don’t stop no matter what until the scoreboard says zero and we have the plaque in our hands,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez, a junior, finished with a career-high 450 yards passing and six touchdowns.
And the plaque in his hands.
“I had faith in my players,” he said.
It was a fun bus ride home with cars pulling alongside to honk their horns.
South Gate (11-3) will open the regional state playoffs with a home game Saturday at 6 p.m. against Bishop Union.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
