The Santa Maria Saints enter the CIF Division IV Central Section quarterfinals with the mindset of just keep winning.
In the first round against Caruthers on the road, they were down one in the fourth quarter with 1:24 left in the game. On 4th and 20, the season hung in the balance. They called "Hurricane" a play designed to send all receivers on fade routes. With pressure, senior quarterback Josue Elena found senior Malachi Jordan for the catch, score and win.
“I was on the ground and I hear just the crowd on our side just erupt,” Elena recalled.
“Since I caught it, I felt his arms and I just pretty much kept going and just had my legs all up and then took it in,” Jordan said.
The win was their first playoff win since 2017, an accomplishment that Jordan believes was a product of execution.
“We always had the talent all around. We just needed to execute. This year we've honestly executed the best we ever have all the four years I've been here.”
That execution came into play when in the final regular season game against crosstown rivals Pioneer Valley, won in commanding fashion 32-7.
“When it mattered towards league we just turned up and we got hot late, which matters a lot,” Elena explained.
The seniors on this team including Elena and Jordan have been through the process of trying to get the program back on track and this year, they are now a team to be dealt with in the postseason.
“We believe that we could win the whole thing and after that game on Friday, we believe even more and it just fires all of us up," Elena stated.
As one of only two teams to win their first round game and one of only four total to be still playing in the postseason between the Mountain and Ocean leagues, there’s only thing on their mind as they continue their final high school football season as a Saint.
“Honestly, I’m just trying to get a CIF ring, that’s all I’m trying to get," Jordan said. "Just helping my coaches and my team get a ring.”
The 6-5 (10) Saints take on the 9-1 (2) Dos Palos Broncos at 7 p.m. on the road Nov. 9. The Broncos have set to score less than 21 points in all but one game this season. They beat Pioneer Valley on Sept. 8 41-17.
Morro Bay was the only other team out of the Mountain and Ocean leagues to make it out of the first round. Atascadero and Mission Prep each had byes in Division III.
