HOLLISTER >> Earlier in the week, a package of plays was put in for Kai Vaughn — mostly out of the “Wildcat” formation — to take snaps as a precaution.

Vaughn found himself at quarterback for Monterey High in the second quarter for the duration of the game Friday when Preston White went out with a upper body injury.

“I had a sandbox on the sidelines with some bottle caps and we were moving some pieces around to figure out how to get into the end zone,” Monterey coach Alex Besaw said. “Kids stepped into roles they weren’t accustomed to and played their hearts out.”

That would include Enobong Wirth, who rushed for 151 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winner with 49 seconds left in the Toreadores’ wild 25-22 win at Hollister.

“It was probably the best high school football game I’ve been a part of,” Besaw said. “The adversity we faced. To come from behind and win was pretty special.”

Adding to the celebration for Monterey is that it locked up a playoff berth, improving to 3-1 in the Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division. It cannot finish any worse than fifth in league play — the top five teams in the Gabilan earn automatic playoff spots.

“Our message at halftime was that we have to find a different way to win a game,” Besaw said. “That was the fun part about this. It wasn’t our style. We weren’t accustomed this. But that’s sports. You don’t know when it might be your last play.”

With White out for the remainder of the game and his status for next week against Soquel uncertain, Vaughn and Wirth began taking snaps out of the “Wildcat,” where the runningbacks take the snap from center, making the Toreadores one-dimensional.

“The Wildcat wasn’t going to win this game,” Besaw said. “Enobong (Wirth) and Kai (Vaughn) were taking direct snaps. We had to get Kai comfortable throwing on the run.”

Vaughn, who played quarterback as a freshman on the junior varsity, has been used as receiver and defensive back the past two years.

“Last week I built a package around Kai just in case,” Besaw said. “Obviously tonight we had to stretch that as much as possible. He made some huge plays in the biggest moments.”

That would include the Toreadores’ game-winning drive, when Vaughn found Dakota Ordonio with a completion on fourth-and-4 at midfield to keep a drive alive with 1:59 left.

Wirth, who was coming off a 43-carry, 208-yard rushing effort the week before, broke free on a run for 18 yards to get Monterey to the 1-yard line before he punched it in for his fourth touchdown of the game with 49 seconds remaining.

“To tell you the truth, I can’t remember the final few plays,” Besaw said. “I don’t even know if I was breathing. What an effort from these kids.”

Ironically Monterey was in a similar position last week when it had the ball inside the 4-yard line in the final 25 seconds, yet was unable to get it into the end zone in a 28-21 loss to Salinas.

Trailing 19-7 in the third quarter, the ‘Balers (4-3) mounted a comeback by producing the game’s next 15 points to take a 22-19 lead with 4:46 left.

That set the stage for the Toreadores offense to engineer a drive with Vaughn — who finished 5-of-9 for 94 yards — orchestrating an offense that featured a completely different look to it.

Not only did Monterey calmly march downfield, keeping the drive alive at midfield with a fourth down completion, but it chewed up nearly four minutes of the clock, leaving Hollister with little time to mount a comeback.