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Two questionable calls in the final seconds of the varsity football game between Milpitas and Wilcox high schools Friday helped Wilcox escape with a 27-24 victory in front of their home crowd, and ended Milpitas' hopes of an undefeated season. It was a back-and-forth contest throughout the second half, with five lead changes in the final two periods and four in the fourth quarter alone.
The disputed closing sequence began when Wilcox scored a touchdown with 50 seconds remaining to take a three-point lead, aided by a pass-interference penalty against the Trojans that gave Wilcox the ball on the Milpitas 1-yard line.
Milpitas responded in dramatic fashion when junior quarterback Junior London connected with senior wide receiver Chris Albright on a 65-yard pass play that took the Trojans to the Wilcox 15-yard line.
London tried to hit Albright in the end zone two plays later, but the pass fell incomplete on a play where Albright and the Milpitas sideline felt a pass-interference penalty should have been called on Wilcox.
"My problem with it is (the referees) should keep making calls," Head Coach Kelly King said. "Good or bad, make the same calls. If you're being bad, keep being bad."
Milpitas had one final shot at the win, and London completed a pass to senior Brandon Lee over the middle inside the 5-yard line. Lee turned toward the goal line and stretched for the winning score with two Wilcox defenders draped over him. The referee, however, ran in and spotted
"It was a really controversial way to end the game. We felt like we got cheated," senior linebacker Steven Fanua said.
Fanua led the team with 19 total tackles (seven solo) and added a two-yard touchdown run to start the scoring in the frantic fourth quarter. Senior linebacker Viet Duong added 17 tackles (eight solo).
The Trojan offense also looked to be in high gear throughout the game, compiling 510 yards of offense and out-gaining Wilcox by a two-to-one margin. Junior Ben Pomele rushed for 118 yards on just 12 carries. Albright compiled 152 yards receiving and Lee added 100 yards.
London split time at quarterback with junior Cameron Hernandez, who threw for 181 yards. London passed for 197 yards and a 34-yard fourth-quarter touchdown to Albright.
Milpitas built a 10-0 lead in the first half behind a 39-yard field goal from junior Alex Tran and a 1-yard sneak by London. But a bad snap contributed to a missed field goal attempt for Milpitas late in the second quarter, and a Wilcox touchdown just seconds before halftime put the Chargers back within striking distance at 10-7 and set the stage for a seesaw second half.
The game was the league opener for both teams in the highly competitive De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
King said the Trojans' focus must now be to "dig ourselves out of this hole and get one of the three automatic playoff berths for our league."
Milpitas will travel to Los Gatos tomorrow night. Los Gatos was ranked ninth in last week's San Jose Mercury News Central Coast Section Football Top 15 (Milpitas was ranked 11th). The junior varsity game begins at 5 p.m., with the varsity to follow at 7:30 p.m.
