When Pomona senior Joevannie Rosales lined up for a game-winning field goal attempt with two seconds left in a tie game, it was an unthinkable moment.
Rosales, a soccer player by trade, decided to give football a go with soccer not being played this fall — a decision that paid off with an unforgettable moment when the senior kicked a 40-yard field goal as time expired to push No. 4 Pomona past No. 6 Ralston Valley 17-14 on Friday night at North Area Athletic Complex.
“I thought it was going far right, but I don’t know,” Rosales recalled. “It went in and then everything just stopped and then all my teammates just came running up and it was a great moment, a great feeling.”
The Panthers had one timeout and a full field in front of them when they got the ball for the final possession.
Driving down the field, a 12 yard-run from AJ Zamora pushed them over midfield with a minute left as the senior tailback dipped out of bounds to stop the clock. Seconds later, senior Jack Pospisil completed his only pass of the second half, finding junior Isaiah Alvarez on a curl route where he was able to dance to the sidelines to stop the clock.
Pospisil centered the ball at the 24-yard line and coach Jay Madden used his final timeout.
The 14-14 game was on the foot of Rosales.
“I started kicking just a couple of months ago,” Rosales said. “I was scared when I started because of how they practiced. It took a little getting used to because I’m used to playing soccer so when I run-up (to kick the ball), I take more steps.”
Snap-down, hold good, a few steps from Rosales and the ball was drilled.
The end result: Pomona’s first win over Ralston Valley in three years.
“He was kicking in PE class one day and I’m like, ‘Hey, we gotta at least try it,” Madden said of his kicker. “To end one of the biggest rivalries in the state like that was awesome.”
Pomona (3-0) pounded the ball all Friday night, bruising the Mustangs (2-1) on punishing drives. The Panthers got each of their touchdowns on the ground, one from Pospisil and another from Chase Muller.
A second-half Pospisil interception set up a short touchdown drive for Ralston Valley, which was capped by Zach Friedman’s touchdown run. A few minutes later Friedman connected with Devin McNearny for a 55-yard pitch and catch. That set up a Friedman-to-Charlie Carlston 14-yard score which tied the game at 14 with under five minutes to go.
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