HS FOOT: Ugh! Crespi loses finale, then a coin flip for last playoff spot

All Crespi High needed to do was win.

A victory Friday over Loyola in the Serra League finale would have meant an automatic playoff berth. But instead, Crespi blew a 15-point and missed three extra-point kicks, including one on overtime that proved a killer, as the visiting Celts lost 36-35 in a heartbreaker at L.A. Valley College.

Crespi then lost a three-way coin flip for the last playoff spot from the league -- Bishop Amat won, as Notre Dame was another casualty -- and the season was over.

With the score tied at 29, Crespi scored first in overtime on Cody Cordell's 1-yard run, but the extra-point kick was pulled left, leaving the Celts with a vulnerable six-point lead. Loyola answered when Nicolas Cotton hit Kodi Whitfield on 25-yard touchdown pass, followed by Conrad Ukropina's successful point-after kick, setting off a massive blue celebration.

By winning, Loyola (8-2) finished second in the five-team league, earning one of the three playoff berths along with first-place Alemany, which defeated Notre Dame 21-14 on Friday to force a three-way flip.

"I'm just upset. It was a heartbreaker," Crespi safety Tyler Foreman said. "I can't believe we lost this game."

Crespi (7-3) was penalized 12 times for 123 yards, as two touchdowns were called back.

"You've seen my team so many times. Have you ever seen us called for so many penalties?" Crespi coach Jon Mack asked reporters. "It's hard to play against a 12th man."

Cordell completed 15 of 21 for 251 yards and a touchdown. Terrence Williams added 97 yards rushing and a touchdown on 20 carries, and he also had five receptions for 79 yards.

Cotton was 16 of 29 for 200 yards and three touchdowns, and Whitfield had five catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns. His winning touchdown in overtime was the kind of stuff kids dream about.

"It came down to rehearsal. We've practiced being in that situation so many times," Whitfield said. "That's why I wasn't nervous."