File photo of Curtis Haut earlier in the season. (Photo/ John Spaulding)
IRONDEQUOIT — In a game that featured a rematch of two teams that combined for 94 points in their regular season meeting, Cal-Mum ground out a 15-12 win over Bishop Kearney on Saturday to advance to sectional finals.
After forcing a Bishop Kearney turnover on downs in the first quarter, the Raiders offense came out and was not able to move the ball as efficiently as they have all season. Senior quarterback Kurtis Haut was held in check for most of the game, but senior running back Joe Cappotelli broke a 38-yard touchdown near the end of the first quarter to give his Raiders a 6-0 lead.
But Kings senior receiver Jo Jo Gause responded, and proved to be virtually unstoppable all game. He caught three passes, including one for 20-yards down to the 1-yard line, in one drive to set up a tying touchdown right before the half.
“This offense is just loaded with talent,” Raiders head coach John Walther said about Bishop Kearney. “We knew they were gonna make plays.”
The Raiders defense bent, but did not break for the majority of the game. Bishop Kearney got the ball to start the second half and drove it all the way down to the Raiders 17-yard line before they were stopped short, bringing Haut, Cappotelli, and Co. back on the field.
A few key third and fourth down conversions by Haut allowed the Raiders to kick a crucial 34-yard field goal to go ahead 9-6 early in the fourth quarter.
The Kings answered right back. Senior quarterback Tyler Kirton and senior running back Tre Johnson brought their offense down to the Raiders 10-yard line, where Kirton again found Gause for a go-ahead touchdown with just 3:25 left.
The Raiders took the field down 12-9 with three minutes to go and, unsurprisingly, Haut broke out when it mattered most. On the first play of the drive, he found a hole and ran for 51-yards before being stopped at the Bishop Kearney 15-yard line. A few plays later Cappotelli ran it down to the 4 with less than 20 seconds remaining and no timeouts left.
Haut and the offense scrambled to get back to the line of scrimmage to get one more play off before time expired, and were barely able to do so. Haut took the shotgun snap, ran to the right pylon in the front of the endzone, and stretched the ball over the goal line while being tackled as time expired to go ahead for the win.
“He just made a play. He made a good play,” Walther said about the Haut on his final drive.
Cal-Mum (7-1) will play Red Jacket in the sectional finals next week.