Chula Vista Mater Dei scores late to defeat Downey in 2-AA regional bowl game

It wasn’t over. It was time to refocus. Time to go for a state title.

So after a weekend jubilation on the heels of last Friday’s Southern Section Division 4 championship win over Cypress, the Downey Vikings laced their cleats, took the field for Monday practice, and got back to competition.

Sort of. Coach Jack Williams called it “Finish the Lyric” — offense vs. defense, a boombox brought to the middle of the field, Viking players hearing hip-hop and R&B and ‘70s hits and having to recite the proper words. The defense won, by the way, as the offense failed to properly recite George Jones’ “Tennessee Whiskey.”

“Really trying to get them back on track,” Williams said.

It’s been a strange, scintillating season for Downey, a group making games of Duck-Duck-Goose and relay runs ascending to perhaps the best year in program history. But there was more — a chance to go where no Viking had gone before, a regional Division 2-AA bowl game Friday, the only hurdle to a state-championship game. And even as they couldn’t recall the words Monday, Downey’s offense and quarterback Aidan Chiles were smooth like Tennessee whiskey in the first half, running up a 21-8 lead over Chula Vista Mater Dei Catholic.

A healthy Chiles slinging, a roster full of senior leadership brewing, Downey came into 2022 focused on winning a CIF championship. So its Division 4 title seemed a goal completed. Box checked. Hands wiped.

It was “weird,” Williams called it, for Downey to refocus, trying to motivate his group Monday with the sing-along hijinks. The Vikings had already established their legacy. So on Tuesday, Williams called them together, telling them they had a chance to go a step further.

“Nobody in school, in any sport, has won a state title,” Williams said. “Not only will you be CIF, you’ll be a state champion … you can be the first in the city of Downey.”

And the Vikings came out on a rampage Friday. Oregon State commit Chiles threw a 40-yard pass to senior Bryant Carey for their first score of the game, then a 35-yard strike over the middle to Ian Hernandez at the start of the second quarter to push Downey’s lead to 21-0. The defense did its job, picking off two passes from dynamic Crusaders quarterback Dominic Nankil in the first quarter.

But everything went wrong.

As Downey’s offense stalled, Mater Dei settled in. Nankil scrambled in the pocket and found receivers. A touchdown pass late in the second quarter and short run in the third brought the game to within a score.

And just as Downey seemed poised to put away the win, the Crusaders picked off a pitch-back trick play thrown by a Downey receiver. Moments later, Nankil rolled left and fired a bomb to receiver Rollin George for an 87-yard gain. Anthony McMillan scored his second touchdown of the game two plays later.

The Vikings’ energy evaporated, down one point — and the next play, they fumbled on the kickoff, the Crusaders recovering and securing a gut-wrenching 22-21 victory.