Football: Barbier Kicks SRV to 16-13 Win Over Mitty

San Ramon Valley 16, Mitty 13

The Star: Kicker Brett Barbier kicked a 47-yard field goal with 17.7 seconds left to win the game for San Ramon Valley. Check it out in the videos section.

The Turning Point: Michael Tagliaferri intercepted a pass from future California Golden Bear Kyle Boehm and returned it 34 yards for a San Ramon touchdown to tie the score at 13-13 with 4:33 left in the third quarter.

The Quote: "He's just that talented." — San Ramon Valley coach Mark Kessler on Barbier, who isn't the starting kicker, coming in to kick the game-winner.

What's Next? San Ramon will travel to Antioch on Sept. 17.

Bottom Line: It was an eye-opening win for the Wolves over a Mitty team which had already played a game and came in ranked No. 8 in Northern California by Cal-Hi Sports. Quarterback Zach Kline was effective in his debut, completing 14 of 20 passes for 133 yards without an interception, while out-playing Boehm.

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Brett Barbier kicked a 47-yard field goal with 17.7 seconds left as San Ramon Valley High opened its season with a 16-13 win against Central Coast Section power Archbishop Mitty of San Jose.

Barbier didn't even come into the game as the Wolves' No. 1 kicker. Scott Rider kicked both extra points — one of which was blocked — but is coming off a knee injury and Wolves coach Mark Kessler said Barbier was better suited for the long field goal try.

"He's just that talented," Kessler said of Barbier. "The kid is a stud."

After San Ramon quarterback Zach Kline was sacked for a loss of five yards on third-and-three from the Mitty 25, Barbier trotted onto the field a calmly sailed the ball through the uprights.

It didn't count.

Mitty had called a timeout before the ball was snapped and then called a second timeout to further ice the junior kicker.

It didn't work.

Barbier's second kick easily cleared the bar and the Wolves led 16-13.

"My teammates were there by my side just keeping me cool," Barbier said.
"You know, it was a team win. We all helped out and we came out on top."

Kline stood on the sideline experiencing a little de ja vu.

"The same thing happened freshman year," Kline said. "It was the same score (13-13) against De La Salle with about the same amount of time left, just maybe a little closer. He made that one too and we won 16-13. It brought back memories tonight."

And while the situations were eerily similar, Friday's kick had a lot more a stake.

The Monarchs (1-1) came into the game ranked No. 8 in Northern California by Cal-Hi Sports and are among the favorites to win the West Catholic Athletic League.

San Ramon, which is coming off a 6-5 season, entered No. 17 in the same batch of rankings and solidified itself as a team to watch this season.

"There were definitely some first-game jitters," Kline said. "I was up with varsity at the end of last year, but it's a whole new ballgame coming in as the starter against a team like Mitty."

In his first varsity start, Kline impressed. He connected on his first seven pass attempts and finished 14-for-21 for 133 yards without a touchdown or interception.

Mitty's Cal-bound quarterback Kyle Boehm paled in comparison throwing the ball, finishing 5-of-11 for 38 yards and a pair of interceptions. He was able to show off his athleticism running for 127 yards and a pair of touchdowns to generate most of Mitty's otherwise stagnant offense.

Boehm's second interception proved costly as San Ramon's Michael Tagliaferri returned it 34 yards for a touchdown with 4:33 left in the third quarter to tie the score, 13-13.

After San Ramon forced Mitty to punt on its ensuing possession, the Wolves responded with an impressive eight-play, 54-yard drive which set them up with first-and-goal from the ten. After a pair of incompletions and a gain of five, the Wolves faced fourth-and-goal from the six at the right hash mark with about seven minutes left in the game.

Kessler opted to send his offense back on the field, instead of attempting the potential go-ahead field goal.

"With it being on the right hash from so close and having the first extra point blocked, I wasn't comfortable with the field goal there," Kessler said. "It can be tough to get the right angle from there."

With the way the San Ramon defense was playing, Kessler also thought the Wolves would get the ball back with another chance to win the game.

He turned out to be right.

Michael Summers rushed for 43 yards on 15 carries — 23 of which came on the Wolves' final drive of the game.

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San Ramon Valley 16, Mitty 13

Mitty-San Jose  0 13 0 0 — 13
San Ramon Valley 0 6 7 3 — 16

Scoring summary

11: 14, 2nd: M — Boehm 30 run (Vaca kick)
5:23, 2nd: SRV — Egan 3 run (kick blocked)
1:40, 2nd: M — Boehm 10 run (kick blocked)
4:33, 3rd: SRV — Tagliaferri 34 interception return (Barbier kick)
17.7, 4th: SRV — Barbier 47 field goal

Individual Statistics
Rushing (car-yards): M — Boehm 17-127, De Cecco 10-53, McClenahen 7-12, Barrow 4-11, Meszaros 3-0. SRV — Summers 15-43, Weiss 6-25, Reed 3-14, Egan 3-6, Kline 8-(-12).
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): M — Boehm 5-11-38-2. SRV — Kline 14-21-133-0, Weiss 0-1-0-0.
Receiving (rec-yards): M — McClenahen 2-12, Meszaros 1-11, Biondic 1-8, White 1-6. SRV — Faber 3-32,  Summers 2-31, Eckel 2-20, Blair 1-14, Egan 1-14, Peterson 1-11, Harvey 2-4, Tagliaferri 1-2.

Team offense (rush-pass-total)
Mitty 203-38-241
San Ramon Valley 66-133-199
Fumbles/lost: M — 5/1; SRV — 0/0.
Records: SRV 1-0, Mitty 1-1

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