OAKS CHRISTIAN FOOTBALL 2006! THERE WILL NEVER BE A TEAM LIKE YOU EVER AGAIN!! TAHNK YOU!!

WELL TO ALL THE DOUBTERS AND HATERS(AND THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF YOU SORRY SAPS OUT THERE)AND TO ALL THOSE 'OVER RATED" CHANTERS. THE FACTS ARE THAT THIS "IS" THE BEST HIGH-SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM THAT HAS EVER STEPPED ONTO A FIELD FROM HERE TO TEXAS TO FLORIDA AND EVERYWHERE IN BETWEEN! 46 GAME WINNING STREAK SPEAKS FOR ITSELF & IT HAS BEEN AN HONOR TO BE A PART OF IT! GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE SENIORS ESPECIALLY THE 11 D-1 BALLERS WHO ARE GOING TO "LIGHT IT UP"IN THE COLLEGE RANKS. THANKS AGAIN FOR THE MEMORIES AND GOD BLESS TO ALL!!

I just caught up with Jimmy Clausen as he made his way off the field. Here's a sampling of what he said:

"We're competitors. We want to play the best competiton. Cardinal Newman was great today."

"The first half wasn't the best half I've ever played."

"I really don't know why we had so many penalties."

(Before the fourth quarter drive)
"We said, 'This is what we worked four years for. We need to go, we need to do this.' "

Oaks Christian coach Bill Redell announced he has been given a five-year contract to stay at Oaks Christian.

"They're going to keep it going."

"It was a good football game. Those guys played well."

"Penalties hurt us. I think we had three penalties."

Oaks Christian defensive coordinator Clay Matthews just told Star columnist David Lassen:

"I told the guys, 'You've been waiting to be in a football game, well this is a real football game."

Lemmens just raised the state title trophy aloft and showed it to the jubulant fans. Clausen, Jones and Wiser joined Lemmens atop the bench facing the crowd.

Oaks fans chanting "We're No. 1" Newman fans chanting "Overrated!"

Cardinal Newman coach Paul Cronin just told the assembled media, "I thought we'd beat 'em by 14."

"Our kids gave them everything they had, but you can't be satisfied. It's 15 games and a tough loss."

An Oaks Christian coach just grabbed his arm and told him, "Great game coach, you outcoached us."

Third and fourth down are incompletions that both look like pass interference. Oaks celebrates a state title it had to fight for.

Pond goes around right end for three.Hutton goes left for two. It's third and goal at the 5 for Newman

Jones takes right off tackle for three yards, then takes left on second down, cuts it inside and reaches for a 7-yard touchdown run. The point after is good. Newman has been applied to the rack after just two plays.

Oaks has the ball first, four attempts from the 10.

Lemmens caught a tipped pass with 0.0 on the clock, but officials put 0.4 back on the clock. Clausen gets one last chance in regulation, Potter catches the ball out of bounds in the end zone. We'll go to overtime. Each team gets four chances at the 10-yard line. The talk now is that Oaks has lost the day no matter what.

Clausen goes deep down the right side just too far for Wiser. Eight seconds left. Overtime looms.

Oaks gets a break on the kickoff. Jones took the kickoff in the end zone and returned it nearly 50 yards. Passes to Jones and Wiser has the ball on the Newman 42 with 13.2 seconds left.

The OC lack of depth is obvious in this game...

Disaster strikes for Newman on fourth-and-inches. An illegal procedure penalty backs up Newman and brings out Torrano to attempt to knot the score at 20-20 with 34.5 seconds left.

After a timeout, Torrano drills the kick. We've got a tie game.

Hutton gains 10 yards and another first down, inside the Oaks 20 to the 18.

After an incompletion, Lingle steps up into the pocked for an 8-yard gain. Wiser made a game-saving tackle.

Lingle's QB sneak to the Oaks 7 will be measured for a first down.

But three straight incompletions halt Newman's progress. Lingle was just thumped on third down. Wiser intercepts the fourth down pass, but the celebrations of the Cardinals fans belie the result -- another pass interference flag.

It's first down Newman on the Oaks 28 with 2:02 left.

A Hutton run and a Lingle sneak give Newman back to back third down conversions.Oaks lets a third-and-10 opportunity slip with a pass interference penalty. Newman has a first down on the Oaks 32 with 2:06 left

Clausen calls an audible and Pond steps in front of Owusu and nearly picks off Clausen again. On fourth-and-4, Clausen rolls left and tucks the ball for a 6-yard gain inside the Newman 10.

After gaining five, he is crunched on a first down QB draw. Marshall Jones strolls in from the 3 on the next play to give Oaks Christian a 20-17 lead with 5:57 to play.

The Oaks Christian stands are celebrating a lot more than the sidelines.

Marshall Jones gets Oaks out of the hole with a 16-yard gain on a counter trap. Now directing a five-wide formation, Clausen finds Wiser in the flat for a 12-yard pickup. A roughing the passer flag moves the ball inside Newman territory. It’s first-and-10 on the Newman 47 with 8:39 left.

Malcom Jones flies off tackle left for a big game, bouncing off would-be tacklers for a 26-yard gain. Clausen picks up 5 on a scramble, diving forward between two linebackers. The Oaks fans start to chant “Touch-down!”

An inside trap for Potter nets nothing, setting up third-and-4 on the Newman 14. Newman calls timeout.

To open the fourth quarter, Hutton gains 11 and 6 on back-to-back carries across midfield.

“I smell an upset,” one foreign face says to me in the press box.
“I don’t believe what I’m seeing,” another reporter says over my other shoulder.

On third-and-5 from the Lions 40, Malcom Jones and Lemmens end the Cardinals drive with a sack. The punt squirts out of bounds inside the Oaks Christian 10. Only 9:10 remains.

Cardinal Newman is rolling now. A short pass on the final play of the third quarter turns into a huge play when Oaks is flagged for a 15-yard facemask. Newman will start the fourth quarter with the lead and the ball on its 40-yard line.

The visiting fans start chanting "New-man! New-man!"

Cardinal Newman 17, Oaks Christian 13
END OF THIRD QUARTER

With Lingle back at quarterback, Hutton and Lingle pick up no gain on two rushes. The biggest play of the game thus far is a third-and-10 from the Newman 8 with 40 seconds left in the third quarter. Lingle drops back and fires a strike to Pond on a slant route for a first down. To those in the press box, that play makes this upset a real possibility.

An incompletion off a receiver’s hands and a short Jones run brings up third-and-6. Clausen opts for a short swing to Jones that nets just 1 yard. Oaks is forced to punt for the second time. With just 2:12 left in the quarter, Cardinal Newman is approaching the fourth quarter with a shocking lead.

The punt, however, poses problems. The Cardinals return man lets the ball float over his head. It rolls another 15 yards until it deadens at the Newman 8.

After another personal foul penalty backs up the Oaks offense, a Jones 9-yard run and a Clausen 3-yard scramble get the Lions a first down. Jones breaks off a 30-yard run that is negated for holding. Now the Lions have two opponents out there — Newman and themselves.

On first-and-17 from the Oaks 20, Malcom Jones slashes right for 12 yards. Elder brother Marshall gains 7 on a draw for another first down.

With Lingle still woosy, Napolitano slids into the end zone off left tackle on the sneak to give Cardinal Newman an improbable 17-13 lead with 5:52. They’ve also taken away half the third quarter without the Lions offense taking the field.

The best we can figure here in the press box, Oaks Christian trailed once this season — 3-0 to Morro Bay.

The Cardinal Newman sideline paints a picture. Magnuson is jumping for joy, leaping into the air, while his quarterback, Lingle painfully, carefully makes his way to the bench.

Oaks Christian cornerback Brad Freeman makes a great play to break up one pass, but even a defender in his face doesn’t stop Lingle from connecting with Magnuson across the middle for a 16-yard gain. Hutton nearly scores on first-and-goal from the Oaks 9, colliding with Anthony Gildon on the goal line. But the crowd hushes silent after Lingle stays down after being stopped on a sneak. Backup Max Napolitano takes practice snaps.

Lingle drops back, doesn’t like what he sees and scampers 12 yards for another first down inside the Oaks 40. A short dive, a Pond bubble screen and a Lingle scramble brings up another fourth-and-1. Hutton slides forward for a gain that makes Cardinal Newman 4-for-5 on fourth down conversions. More importantly, Newman, looking to take the lead, has a first down on the Oaks 29.

An Oaks Christian penalty on the second half kickoff gives Cardinal Newman the ball on its 39 to start. Two Hutton rushes are negated by a delay of game penalty, before Lingle completes an 8-yard pass on third-and-8 for the Cardinals' 11th first down.

The second half is off and running.

Some halftime stats:

Category CN OC
Score 10 13
First downs 10 6
Rushes-Yardage 25-66 7-37
Passing 63 67
Passes 8-16-1 6-14-3
Total offense 133 104
Time of possession 18:05 5:55

Jones has six carries for 29 yards. Clausen is 6 of 13 for 63 yards, 1 TD and 3 ints. Potter has two catches for 46 yards.

Hutton has 14 carries for 43 yards. Lingle is 8 of 16 for 63 yards, 1 TD, 1 int. Derutte has four catches for 25 yards.

Rather than kick the field goal, Oaks elects to go for the end zone and Clausen, unbelievably, is intercepted again by Young. No deflection this time as Clausen, rolling out right, just didn’t see the 225-pound linebacker while looking for Wiser against the grain in the middle of the field.

Clausen has matched his season interception total of three in one half of football.

The ball is kneeled upon, ending the half with Oaks Christian holding a precarious 13-10 lead. But it is the Newman players who are jubuliant.

“New-man!” the Oaks Christian quarterback will be muttering to himself at halftime.

And suddenly the Oaks offense clicks back into gear. Clausen finds Potter in a seam on the left hashmarks for a 25-yard gain to the Newman 18.

The Notre Dame-bound quarterback hustles down an spikes the ball to stop the clock. Two incompletions bring up fourth-and-10 on the Newman 18.

Under pressure on first-and-10 from the Oaks 39, Clausen hits Wiser in the flat, but the Stanford-bound wideout is wrapped up for no gain. Oaks takes a timeout with 41.8 seconds left in the half.

Clausen throws incomplete deep down the right sideline for Chris Owusu. On third-and-10, Jones gets a first down on a 18-yard draw that goes across midfield to the Newman 43.

Timeout with 29.5 seconds left.

A fade pattern glances off a receiver’s finger tips on the goal line, Hutton gains 2 on a trap and a receiver drops a potential first down that Lingle winged into a tiny window across the middle. Newman decides to settle for the field goal.

Ellio Torrano, a 265-yard lineman, drills the 34-yard field goal with exactly one minute left in the game. Oaks clings to a 13-10 lead.

Hutton moves the ball inside the Lions 30 before Lingle is stopped on a scramble, bringing up another fourth-and-1 situation on the Lions 23. The Newman quarterback lines up in the shotgun, before returning under center and driving forward on the sneak for a 6-yard gain. It's first-and-10 on the Oaks 19 again.

Jones earns a first down with a pair of runs, but Clausen is intercepted by linebacker Kyle Young. Young fumbles on the return, but Magnuson saves the day with the recovery.

Newman has a chance to take the lead before halftime.

The rain has arrived, sending the Newman cheerleaders scattering for their hooded sweatshirts. The Palo Alto players behind one of the end zones head for drier ground. Luckily, the HDC is a soccer facility with a roof.

The Oaks Christian defense is picking up the slack for the offense. Duke Lemmens sacks Lingle on first down to doom this Newman possession. Three plays later, Pond punts the ball back to Oaks. The ball takes a Newman roll to the Oaks 19.

Only 5:47 left in the first half.

Malcom Jones is stopped for no gain on first down and Sean Wiser loses four yards on a bubble screen. The Oaks offense is stopped twice in a row when a receiver drops a nice Clausen strike on a comeback route. Looks like it would have been a first down.

One of our writers says, “Oaks Christian fans are saying, ‘What do they call that, when the guy kicks the ball in the air?’ ”

It’s called a punt, people. And Oaks just executed one nicely to the Newman 34.

Behind great protecting by his offensive line, Lingle finds Pond for 12 yards and Hutton for seven yards. Hutton is stopped up the gut for 2 yards, bringing up a third-and-1. Lingle is stacked up on the third down QB sneak.

On fourth-and-1 from the Oaks 38, Malcom Jones halts a slowly developing run to get the Lions the ball back with 9:02 left in the half.

Here are some first down stats:

Newman has seven first downs and 77 yards on 22 plays. Lingle is 6-for-11 with a TD and an INT. Hutton has five carries for 14 yards.

Clausen is 2-for-3 for 38 yards with a TD and an INT. Jones has three carries for four yards. Oaks has 50 yards of total offense.

Newman picks itself up and dusts itself up with a pair of runs that moves the chains once again. A bubble screen from Lingle to Max Pond and a Hutton trap gives Newman first down No. 7 as the first quarter comes to a close.

Oaks Christian 13, Cardinal Newman 7
END OF THE FIRST QUARTER

Newman has possession, first down on its 41.

Freshman Malcom Jones, Marshall's younger brother, just made the biggest play of his young prep career, picking off Lingle across the middle and turning the corner for a 64-yard interception return for a touchdown. So much for Newman's momentum. Oaks regains the lead, 13-7, with 2:03 left in the first. The point after failed.

And we had just figured out that Oaks Christian trailed 3-0 to Morro Bay

FYI, Clausen had been intercepted three times in 259 passes this season entering the game.

Newman went 70 yards in 14 plays. And Oaks just went backwards five yards after being penalized on its first play of its second possession.

And the incredible just happened. Clausen was flushed out of the pocket on first down and floated a pass into the right flat that was intercepted by Magnuson.

Oops, I've been refering to the wrong name as the Newman quarterback. The Newman quarterback is Ryan Lingle. Magnuson is a receiver, and apparently, a linebacker.

An out route gains 4, but the momentum is stemmed by a receiver’s drop on a bubble screen. Magnuson throws incomplete into the end zone on third down. Yet Newman elects to get something out of this drive, as Magnuson, on fourth-and-6 from the Oaks 19, finds senior tight end Ethan Crandall for a lunging 19-yard touchdown pass.

Looks like we've got a game on our hands, 7-7, 3:50 left in the first quarter.

Newman is facing another third-and-1 after a bubble screen gains 6 and Joe Janowczyk surges forward for a 3-yard run. Newman’s fourth ball carrier of the young game, a sophomore named Jeff Badger, earns first down No. 4 off right tackle.

First-and-10 Newman on the Oaks 23.

Make that three consecutive first downs, as a roughing the passer penalty on an incompletion gives Newman a first down on the Oaks 33.

Magnuson's quarterback sneak earns a new series and a loud cheer from the visiting fans.

First-and-10 from the Newman 41, Hutton gains 6 on a draw play and Derutte gains 3 on a juggling catch.

"Oaks Christian hasn't scored in two and a half minutes," someone says in the press box.

That trend will continue, Newman just picked up a second straight first down on another quarterback sneak. It's first-and-10 on the Oaks 48 with 6:50 left in the first quarter.

Newman takes over on its 30-yard line. Under pressure, quarterback Scott Magnuson throws incomplete on first down. Tailback Brian Hutton gains a modest 3 on a power run on second down. Magnuson’s 6-yard pass to Michael Derutte brings up a fourth-and-inches situation.

On first-and-10 from the Newman 38, Clausen takes the shotgun snap and whips a pass down the seam to Chris Potter for a 21-yard gain. The strike takes the breath away from the crowd visiting from the North. One the next play, Clausen finds Jones on a similar route for a 17-yard touchdown. It’s 7-0 Lions with 9:49 left in the first quarter.

Clausen eludes a Newman lineman on the first play from scrimmage, scrambling right for an 8-yard gain. Marshall Jones is stopped on a swing pass to set up a third-and-2 from the Newman 43. Jones is also stopped on the third down dive, but gets the first down on a fourth-and-1 try.

Twelve hours of Fox Sports Net coverage starts with a bang as the FSN cameras miss the kickoff. Anthony Gildeon returns the low, rolling kickoff 15 yards to midfield.

It may be a foreign venue, but the Oaks Christian faithful have made their half of the stadium home. Familiar signs like "OCS," "GO LIONS," and "POWER FOOTBALL" line the base of the stands behind the Oaks sideline.

Interesting decision by the upstarts from NorCal, giving the ball to Jimmy Clausen to start the game.

The two sets of captains have come out to the CIF logo painted onto midfield for the coin toss. Injured Oaks running back Marc Tyler hobbles out to the gathering on crutches. Newman wins the toss and elects to defer to the second half.

The first California state title game in 79 years is about to kick off. The last time out Bakersfield High defeated Fullerton High on Dec. 27, 1927.

The teams have made their way out of the locker room and onto the field. Oaks Christian took the field first in matching maroon jerseys and pants. Because both schools wear maroon and gold, the Cardinal Newman fans below us starting chanting "New-man, New-man" for their opponents.

Entering the parking lot from Avalon Blvd., I was struck by how many cars were in the parking lot. Now that I'm in the stadium, which only has a few thousand fans sitting patiently for the game, I now understand the mass of humanity is spread out over the complex for the various events that merely includes the three football games. There is a coaching combine with Washington coach Tyrone Willingham and a state cheerleading competition that has obviously packed the bodies into the HDC.

Good morning from the HDC. We're 15 minutes from kickoff. The national anthem has just been played, via recording with (a pet peeve of mine) the players still in the locker room. The Star's crack staff of Derry Eads, Loren Ledin, David Lassen and me, Joe Curley, are nice and dry in the press box overlooking the 50-yard line.