FULLERTON — Even though there was still almost 20 minutes left to play, Peyton Collins and Jalen Arnold decided to start Moreau Catholic’s state championship celebration in the third quarter.
At the very end of Collins’ 80-yard interception return, the two seniors high-fived right before the ball crossed the goal line, putting an early exclamation point on the Mariners’ 42-8 CIF Division 7-AA state title victory over Lindsay at Fullerton Union High School stadium on Friday evening.
“That was special,” Arnold said. “It’s a memory that going to live forever, and a story that me and him are going to tell our kids one day.”
Everything went right for Moreau Catholic.
The passing game was crisp, the run game executed at a high level, special teams had multiple big returns and, of course, the defense forced a slew of turnovers.
The result was a running-clock in the fourth quarter and a game that ended with the coach Keith Minor and the rest of the Hayward program celebrating their first state championship victory.
“This is surreal,” Minor said while still soaked from a Gatorade bath. “This took a lot of effort and energy, a lot of dedication and faith by the kids.”
Jalen Arnold started the scoring with an 81-yard punt return touchdown early in the first quarter. Peyton Collins doubled the lead with a slippery 25-yard touchdown that saw him force a couple of missed tackles on the first play of the second quarter as Moreau showed it was too fast and too talented for its SoCal opponent.
“We knew we just had to come out here and play our game at our level,” Collins said. “We came out here and did that, and everyone saw the result.”
Lindsay, led by 2,088-yard rusher Jose Cortes, was the third consecutive run-heavy team the Mariners had faced in a championship game. Moreau defeated wing-T Ferndale 22-19 in the North Coast Section Division VII title game and smashmouth Leland 42-11 in the NorCal regional.
Eriq Field and Seth Evans, the team’s prolific linebackers who each had over 100 tackles this season, entered Friday night needing to have big games against their championship opponent.
That’s exactly what they did in Orange County, holding the Cardinals to 21 rushing yards. Collins recovered a fumble midway through the first quarter to snuff out one Linday drive, and Fields showed off his football smarts late in the first half.
Lindsay quarterback Uriah Guerrero threw a high and backward pass with a little over three minutes left in the second quarter.
When it hit the ground, 21 players acted as if the incompletion ended the play. But Fields knew better, scooping the ball up and running down the bewildered Lindsay sideline for a 65-yard touchdown and a 28-0 halftime lead over the Cardinals.
“I thought it was a dead ball, but then I looked up and saw Eriq running in for a touchdown,” Collins said before laughing and adding, “I was pretty happy about that.”
Whereas Lindsay entered the state title game having attempted just 27 passes all season, Moreau Catholic’s dynamic and balanced attack was headlined by steady senior quarterback Jeremiah Charles.
The 6-foot-4 senior entered Friday having completed his last 20 passes, and ended the night 5 for 9 for 83 yards, with a touchdown pass to Donovan Edwards and another to Miles Moore.
Moreau Catholic continued to dominate in the second half, with the fourth quarter played with a running clock. The Mariners finished their banner season 11-4 and as the first school from Hayward to win a state championship.
How did Moreau’s victorious team plan on celebrating?
“We’re going to Disneyland,” Collins exclaimed.
