


PITTSBURG >> Down 21 points early in the second quarter on Friday, there was an uneasiness on the home side of Pirate Stadium.
The usually raucous crowd was quiet, the West Coast tunes were mute and the feeling of the same ol’ Pittsburg lingered.
But in the biggest game of the year, there was no way Pittsburg was going to watch another team clinch its spot into a state title game on its home turf.
That’s not the cloth the Pirates are cut from.
In comeback fashion, Pittsburg defeated Folsom 28-27 to capture the NorCal Division I-AA title and punched its ticket to the 1-AA state title game next Friday against Lincoln-San Diego at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo.
“I think this is the biggest win that the school has had in since 1991,” said Pittsburg coach Charlie Ramirez, who was on the Pirate team that beat De La Salle 33 years ago. “We had basically East Contra Costa County against Greater Sacramento. And our guys showed out.”
Southern Oregon commit Marley Alcantara completed 19 of 28 passes for 255 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver R.J. Mosley was dominant, catching eight passes for 154 yards and two scores.
“The media was trying to write us off,” Mosley said. “They were trying to act like we couldn’t win big games. But we showed out here and we won the big game.”
Early Friday, things did not go well for host Pittsburg.
Folsom had the first drive of the game and marched 68 yards in 11 plays, ending with a 1-yard plunge from star quarterback Ryder Lyons.
On the ensuing possession, Pittsburg fumbled on the first play of the drive and gave Folsom the ball in prime field position. Folsom answered with a Lyons 5-yard touchdown pass to Daymion Rivera to go up 14.
Just when Pittsburg looked like it was going to get a stop, Lyons conjured up his magic as he scrambled away from defenders on a fourth-and-15 in the red zone and completed a perfect pass to sophomore receiver EJ Coleman to take a commanding 21-0 lead early in the second quarter.
But Pittsburg wasn’t going to lay down.
Alcantara found freshman speedster Kenny Ward for a 20-yard touchdown pass with 8:16 left in the second quarter to put the Pirates on the board.
Later in the quarter, Alcantara hooked up with Mosley to cut the Folsom lead to 21-14 going into halftime.
Pittsburg took the momentum into the third quarter.
The Pirates tied the game after Alcantara found Mosley again, this time from 25 yards out. Later in the period, junior receiver Truly Bell caught a 5-yard slant in the end zone to give Pittsburg its first lead of the game.
Folsom made a run in the fourth quarter, but Pittsburg’s defense came up big in every clutch spot. Lyons scored on a 2-yard run to make the score 28-27. But when Folsom called Lyons’ number on a sweep to the right side for the 2-point conversion to take the lead, Pittsburg stopped the California Gatorade Player of the Year in his tracks.
“The kids were committed to not only just executing schemes, but executing the fundamentals,” Ramirez said on his defense in the second half.
Folsom had one more chance with under a minute left to drive down the field and win the game. On fourth-and-20, Pittsburg forced a fumble and senior Jamar Searcy recovered to ice the game for Pittsburg.
From there, it was all smiles and celebrations.