Soquel 28, Jurupa Hills 7: Live updates recap from CIF 4-AA California state championship
Santa Cruz County meets San Bernardino County for the CIF high school football state championship Friday when Soquel plays Jurupa Hills for the Division 4-AA title.
Jurupa Hills and Soquel are the last two teams standing in Division 4-AA and will meet at 8 p.m. Pacific time Friday, Dec. 8, at Pasadena City College in Southern California.
Read below for our live updates recap from this Northern vs. Southern California high school football state championship game. Check SBLive California later for more game coverage from Lance Smith.
FINAL: Soquel 28, Jurupa Hills 7
FOURTH QUARTER UPDATES
TOUCHDOWN JURUPA HILLS! Caleb Ruiz fires an 11-yard strike to Jaylen Ephraim to get the Spartans on the board with less than a minute left. It's 28-7 Soquel. Big play from Ruiz to Gio Medina set it up.
FUMBLE! Getting a little ridiculous now. Soquel coughs it up and it's Jurupa Hills ball again with less than three minutes left.
FUMBLE! Jurupa Hills turns it over right back, but it was a 15-yard gain on fourth and 20 and would have been a turnover anyway. Soquel ball on the Spartans' 45 with just under four minutes left, Knights up 28-0.
FUMBLE! Right after a turnover on downs, Jurupa Hills recovers a fumble on the Soquel 40 with 5:40 left.
TURNOVER ON DOWNS! Jurupa Hills gets penetration on fourth down and gets the sack to take over on its own 27, 11:11 left trailing 28-0.
THIRD QUARTER UPDATES
Quarter ends with Soquel ball deep in Jurupa Hills territory, leading 28-0.
INTERCEPTION! Braylon Noble grabs his second pick, sniffing out the trick play on a double pass. Soquel ball on the Jurupa Hills 25 with 1:02 left in the third, leading 28-0.
TURNOVER ON DOWNS! Jurupa Hills' nice drive stalls on the Soquel 40 after a fourth-down sack by Justice Grauel-Tebong. It's 28-0 with just over four minutes left in the quarter.
TOUCHDOWN SOQUEL! Jordan McCord makes a 57-yard touchdown catch on the first offensive play of the half for the Knights. Third TD pass of the night for Sam Whelan. 28-0 Soquel after the two-point conversion, 11:49 left.
Jurupa Hills tries an onside kick to start the second half but Soquel recovers on its own 48.
SECOND QUARTER UPDATES
First half is in the books, and it was all Soquel, which has three sacks, has forced two turnovers and leads 20-0.
TOUCHDOWN SOQUEL! Lovely toe-tapping 18-yard catch by Jordan McCord on a dime from Sam Whelan makes it 20-0 Knights after a missed extra point. An interception by Braylon Noble set it up. 1:05 left.
Soquel defensive front has been dominant, forcing another punt. It's 14-0 Knights on their own 32, 4:38 left.
TOUCHDOWN SOQUEL! Knights go up 14-0 with after a 13-yard touchdown catch by Braylon Noble with 6:40 left.
FUMBLE! Soquel gets it right back on the Jurupa Hills 31, leading 7-0. 9:10 left in the half.
Much-needed stop for Jurupa Hills, which has the ball on its own 23 after the teams trade scoreless possessions.
FIRST QUARTER UPDATES
Quick first quarter ends with Soquel up 7-0.
TOUCHDOWN SOQUEL! Cruz Ferris plunges in from 2 yards out for the game's first score. Big pass from Sam Whelan to Hudson Summerrill helped set it up. It's 7-0 Knights, 3:18 left.
Kickoff! Jurupa Hills receives and will start on its own 20 after a booming Soquel kick through the end zone.
PREGAME READING
Jurupa Hills (Fontana) began the season 1-4 playing a tough schedule, but the Spartans are reaping the benefit of those games with a spirited postseason run.
Seniors Caleb Ruiz (QB), Jordan Pernillo (RB) and Jaylen Ephraim (WR) lead the offense. Sophomore Daniel Maccharles anchors the defense.
Soquel, which is 5 miles east of Santa Cruz where the redwoods meet the coast, is led by three-star receiver Jordan McCord III and 6-foot-4 senior running back/ linebacker Justice Grauel-Tebong.
The Knights made a 340-mile trek to Pasadena City College for the state championship game.
California high school football scoreboard
(File photo by Nate Latsch)
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-- Mike Swanson | swanson@scorebooklive.com | @sblivesports
