As football coaches go, Sacred Heart Cathedral’s Barry McLaughlin is an optimist. But at 0-5, even he couldn’t envision a Central Coast Section championship for his team.
“No matter how well you play or what pieces you have, when you’re winless at midseason, championships aren’t at the forefront,” he said Monday. “We thought we had a playoff team. And we never gave up hope.”
With the injection of energy at quarterback in Ray-John Spears, a quick-strike offense and big-play defense, the Irish have won five of seven are one win away from that seemingly unattainable title.
They play Christopher-Gilroy (7-5) in Saturday night’s CCS Division 3 championship game at Sequoia-Redwood City. SHC goes after its second title and first since 2008, when it beat Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton 38-21 for the small-school crown.
The Irish’s only other championship-game experience was a 21-14 loss in the 2011 Division 3 game to St. Ignatius at then-AT&T Park before 10,000 fans. They advanced to the title game that year with a 42-23 win over Christopher, the only time they’ve faced the Cougars. Until Saturday.
Christopher defeated Palo Alto (28-27) and Leland-San Jose (36-11) in the playoffs to get to Saturday’s championship. SHC breezed past Leigh-San Jose (21-0) and Mountain View (42-14), the latter behind four touchdowns of 57 yards or longer.
All at 7 p.m. unless noted
Oakland Section
No. 1 seed McClymonds (9-1) vs. No. 2 Skyline (6-4) at Fremont-Oakland HS, 6 p.m.
Central Coast Section
Division 2
* No. 4 Menlo (12-0) vs. No. 3 Wilcox (8-4) at Westmont HS
Division 3
* No. 4 Christopher (7-5) vs. No. 3 Sacred Heart Cathedral (5-7) at Sequoia HS
Division 5
* No. 7 St. Francis-Watsonville (9-3) vs. No. 1 Aragon (8-4) at Westmont HS, 1 p.m.
North Coast Section
Division 2
* No. 4 Campolindo (9-3) at No. 3 Foothill (10-2)
Division 4
* No. 2 Cardinal Newman (8-3) vs. No. 1 Marin Catholic (11-1)
Division 6
* No. 3 Justin-Siena (7-5) at No. 1 Salesian (9-2), 1 p.m.
Division 7
* No. 2 St. Helena (10-1) vs. No. 1 St. Vincent (10-1) at Petaluma HS
Eight-man
* No. 2 Stuart Hall (5-3) at No. 1 Branson (9-0), 1 p.m.
The win over Mountain View included TD passes of 66 yards and 57 yards from Spears to RL Miller and Bruce Uperesa, respectively. Miller also broke free on an 89-yard run, Uperesa a 33-yard scamper and Jerry Mixon a 62-yard run.
“We just had way too much speed for them,” McLaughlin said. “Don’t think that will be the case (against Christopher). They are super creative on offense and will put a lot of pressure on our defense.”
But the team’s defense, led by linebackers Mixon and Jabari Ryan and defensive end Silas Bahlibi, has been SHC’s anchor, according to McLaughlin. A fierce pass rush has been key, which is important against Christopher’s pass-oriented attack led by Spencer Gorgulho (2,028 yards passing, 20 touchdowns).
On the offensive end, Spears, a varsity basketball player since his freshman season, has taken over. Sophomore Aidan McGrath was doing fine, and has a promising future, McGrath said, but Spears “has just exploded,” onto the scene, he said. “There’s no moment or situation that is too big for him.”
If the Irish win Saturday, the moment gets bigger with a berth into a CIF Northern California regional bowl game. The winner there goes after a state title.
“One step, one game at a time,” McLaughlin said.
MaxPreps senior writer Mitch Stephens covers high school sports for The San Francisco Chronicle.
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