Alijah Royster scores 4 touchdowns but Pacifica loses late to Sacramento-Grant in state bowl game

MISSION VIEJO, Calif. - Pacifica High School almost completed a stunning second half comeback.

However the rally fell short in the last 30 seconds of the game and the Tritons lost 35-28 to Sacramento-Grant in the CIF-Division 2-AA state championship bowl game.

Trailing 28-7 at halftime, the Tritons battled bak to tie the Pacers at 28 on the fourth touchdown of the game by sensational sophomore Alijah Royster with 3:54 to play.

But Grant drove down the field and scored the game-winning touchdown with just :22 seconds to play on a Luke Alexander 18 yard touchdown pass to Koby Shabazz.

Following the game Pacifica was unable to properly accept their runner-up trophy as pushing and shoving broke out among the two teams.

The postgame dust-up could not cloud what a great championship game this turned out to be at Saddleback College.

Pacifica took the opening kickoff and drove 72 yards for a touchdown.

Alijah Royster began his incredible championship game performance with a 7-yard touchdown run.

The Pacers tied it late in the first quarter when Alexander tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Lambert.

Grant dominated the second quarter as they scored 3 more touchdowns before the half.

Alexander connected with 6'6 sophomore wide receiver Zo Edwards on a 26-yard touchdown.

Just :20 seconds later the Pacers were back in the end zone as Gary Tia returned a tipped ball for a 36-yard pick-six and Grant bolted out to a 21-7 lead.

They added a late touchdown in the second quarter, a 6-yard run by Lambert and Pacifica was down 28-7.

But the Tritons have been climbing uphill for much of the season.

A three-game losing streak left them with a 3-4 record in early October.

There is no quit in this team and they showed that again in this championship game.

Senior Dominic Duran completed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Royster on 4th and four to cut the deficit in half at 28-14.

Royster was back in the end zone later in the third quarter catching a short pass over the middle and sprinting for a 36-yard touchdown to bring the Tritons to within 28-21 heading into the fourth quarter.

Pacifica caught a break midway through the fourth quarter when Grant missed a 22-yard field goal.

The Tritons immediately drove 80 yards capped off by Royster of course.

His fourth touchdown of the game was a 16-yard catch that sent the Pacifica cheering section into a frenzyy.

But the Pacers converted a short fourth down and a long third down to set up the dramatic championship-winning touchdown.

Sacramento-Grant ends up 12-3 and CIF-Division 2-AA state bowl champions.

Pacifica finishes 11-5 and won two title along the way, a CIF-Southern Section Division 4 championship and a CIF-State Division 2-AA SoCal Regional.

"I am super proud of my boys," said Tritons head coach Mike Moon.

Cal Poly-bound wide receiver Savion Taylor echoed that same sentiment, "We were 3-4 earlier in the year and look where we are at now. I could not be more proud of the guys."

Royster scored four touchdowns for the second time this postseason and he had 12 tds over the past four games.

"We come from Oxnard, not a big community and we really did it out."

They sure did!