FRESNO – The No .5 seed Eagles continued their march towards destiny by knocking off the undefeated No.4 seed Highlanders 22-21 in a thrilling quarterfinals game of the Division IV CIF Central Section Championships at McLane Stadium.
When the Highlanders recovered an onside kick with 9:49 left to play, the Eagles still had control of the game with a 22-13 lead. But then, McLane drove the ball down the field against an Immanuel defense that excelled at stuffing the run and limiting the big plays.
When quarterback Noah Zamora walked into the end zone on first and goal to cut the Eagles’ lead to 22-21, Immanuel’s pride took a big hit. All of a sudden, a sure victory seemed like a gut-wrenching collapse.
Coming off the heels of one of their most improbable and successful seasons in program history, the Highlanders fought desperately to keep their perfect season intact.
With a play that big, in a game with so much at stake for both teams, Immanuel refused to let their emotions get the best of them. Just like the entire season, the Eagles needed to be resilient in order to be the last team standing.
“I didn’t feel like we were going to collapse,” said Immanuel head coach Josh Henderson. “But they definitely took the momentum and scored on that drive. That was a huge play by them.”
In the first half, the Eagles swooped in and stunned the Highlanders with their efficient run game and big play defense that limited McLane’s explosiveness.
On their first drive, quarterback Vincent Rosander’s sneak into the end zone tied the game at 7-7. McLane then countered with their own long drive. But the Eagles defense held when the Highlanders turned the ball over on downs with 4 minutes left in the half.
Jackson Leibee’s dive into the end zone as time expired gave the Eagles the 14-7 lead as they flew to the locker room in exuberance.
In the second half, the Eagles relied on Leibee to fuel their offense and ultimately end the Highlanders season. In their 22-21 opening round victory against No.12 seed Mission College Prep, Leibee couldn’t be stopped as he unleashed for 155 yards rushing on 27 carries.
And like all great players on the biggest stage, he stepped up once again. Leibee ran through McLane’s defense for 116 yards on 24 carries.
“I think I did pretty good,” said Leibee. “I don’t think I lost a yard and we averaged four yards a carry, so yeah, I did pretty good.”
With barely five minutes left, if the Highlanders could just stop the Eagles on their last drive, then their march towards perfection continued. As for the Eagles, they placed their destiny in the hands of the running game.
All Immanuel had to do was chew up extra yards on the ground and run the clock down to prevent McLane’s comeback. Easier said than done.
At first, McLane’s defense stuffed Leibee on consecutive handoffs. And then, facing a crucial third and a long on the 21 yard line with a little more than 2 minutes left, Leibee slipped to the outside for a huge first down that kept the drive alive.
After that, Rosander took a couple of knees and the Eagles started to celebrate as the final seconds ticked off the clock. Immanuel toppled perfection and kept their date with destiny alive.
“I think it went pretty well, obviously, we got the win,” said Leibee. “Had a little scare, but we pulled through.”
Immanuel will have its toughest test yet as they are set to play against No.1 seed Shafter in the semifinals on Nov. 22. Can the Eagles continue to fly on the wings of destiny?
“I know one thing, they’re hungry, they were there last year, they’re back this year,” said Henderson. “It’s a great challenge.”
