HILMAR – Hilmar placekicker Blake Vitorino, whose range sits at just under 50 yards, figured he’d have to convert on a 35-to-40-yard attempt to decide his team’s fate.
Teammates Cohen Felber and Nathan Ayala made sure he didn’t have to sweat it.
Felber hit Ayala for a 21-yard gainer to the 1 with 4.7 ticks remaining and Vitorino casually knocked the game-winner through the uprights as the Yellowjackets outlasted Palma (Salinas) 24-21 Friday night at McSweeney Field.
With the victory, Hilmar (3-0) remains undefeated heading into next week’s non-league matchup against Atwater at Falcon Field.
“As soon as we got the ball, I knew my team was going to get me there,” said Vitorino. “I thought it was going to be a little farther but, man, Nathan made a great catch, and Cohen made a great throw.”
Hilmar lost its lead for the first time in the game when sophomore running back Vincent Tommy scored from 6 yards out – and hauled in the subsequent 2-point conversion – to make it 21-21 with 2:09 to play.
The Yellowjackets started the final drive on their 30 and embarked on a 12-play game-winning drive, during which Felber ran the ball five times for 31 yards and completed 3 of 4 passes (the lone incompletion came when he spiked the ball) for 27 yards.
“I was just trying to play smart,” said Felber, whose two first half touchdowns pushed the Yellowjackets out to an early 14-0 lead. “There was hardly any time left so I’m just trying to get first downs, first downs, first downs.”
Three of Felber’s runs and one of his completions moved the chains on the final drive. On the completion to Ayala, he was simply keying on the safety.
“If the safety moves one way, I throw the other way,” explained the senior quarterback.
After Palma cut Hilmar’s early lead to 14-6, Hilmar was looking to stretch the margin back to two scores. But a fumble halted the drive at the Chieftains’ 26.
Hilmar’s defense eventually held firm on third down, but an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty moved the ball to Hilmar’s 37. On the next play, Tommy took a short pass from quarterback Tristan Lopez and raced in for a TD that made it 14-13 at halftime.
Hilmar went up 21-13 with 6:29 left in the game when Felber hit Nehemiah Gil from 11 yards out, setting the stage for the wild finish.
Palma was without the services of star running back Eli Dukes (hamstring), a senior who rushed for a combined 5,719 yards in his three previous varsity campaigns. Local fans may remember Dukes (165 yards, 2 TDs) as the running back who helped end Hughson High’s bid for back-to-back state titles in the 2023 NorCal regional. Dukes was injured in the Chieftains’ 42-0 win over North Monterey County in Week 1.
