Bullard High advances to D-I football title try

By Andy Boogaard

12/02/11 23:32:32

Niko Pacheco and Dejonte Oneal, the other guys, reversed their roles in a marvelous sequel between Bullard High and Edison on Friday night.

For Bullard quarterback Pacheco, it's been playing in the shadow of Edison quarterback Khari McGee.

For Knights running back/cornerback Oneal, it's been playing in the deep, deep shadow of teammate Demetrius Warren.

View game stats and details

But this would be their night.

"No, the Knights' night," said Pacheco, whose textbook deep ball on a 47-yard touchdown pass to Jomar Parker on fourth-and-4 late in the third quarter launched a furious Bullard comeback in a 40-28 victory against the second-seeded Tigers before 5,500 fans in the semifinals of the Central Section Division I playoffs at Sunnyside Stadium.

"If we don't connect on that play, we possibly get blown out," Knights coach Donnie Arax said of a play called by first-year offensive coordinator Kyle Biggs with their team down 28-13. "Edison had complete control of the game at that point."

But Bullard (10-2) – two months after having a 22-point lead chewed up and spit out by McGee in a 52-50 Edison County/Metro Athletic Conference victory at McLane Stadium – then dropped the throttle and didn't let up while earning a title shot at top-seeded Bakersfield next Friday at Griffith Stadium.

The Drillers (12-0), who have a state-record 34 section championships, advanced with a 31-14 victory against Clovis.

Bakersfield beat Bullard 35-28 for the 2005 D-I title at McLane Stadium, but the Knights came back four years later and defeated Centennial 42-31 for the first section football crown in school history.

Warren, who rushed for 148 yards – actually far below his per-game average in a school-record 2,437 season – hacked Edison's lead to 28-26 on a 3-yard run with 4:56 remaining in the third quarter and two plays after Eric Smith's recovery of a McGee fumble.

Then to Oneal – in a stunning sophomore emergence. First, giving a "winded" Warren a brief breather, according to Arax, Oneal displayed fresh and explosive legs by racing 24 yards off left tackle for a 33-28 Knights lead three plays into the fourth quarter.

But it wouldn't be enough because surely McGee had another miracle in him, right?

It was McGee's 452 total yards, four touchdowns accounted for and five conversion passes that rallied Edison in the first episode.

And, sure enough, it was McGee's 58-yard pass to Preston Scott that advanced the Tigers (10-2) to the Bullard 37 in the final minutes this time.

But two plays later, Oneal jumped a McGee hitch pass intended for Preston Scott and returned it 75 yards for a game-sealing touchdown with 2 minutes to go.

"What about Dejonte Oneal?" Arax said. "What a great performance."

And what about Pacheco?

"Niko's progression this year has been fantastic," Arax said of the junior who completed 11 of 15 passes for 172 yards. "I mean that kid has come a long way."

McGee, another junior, was 10 of 19 for 302 yards. But he also had an interception in the end zone returned 50 yards by Warren midway through the fourth quarter.

"We turned the ball over too much," Edison coach Tim McDonald said. "Give those guys credit, they made plays when they had to. But, boy, we had a lot of opportunities and let them get away."