But the Branham Bruins and their coaches, families, friends and fellow students were milling about on the field at Foothill College—shaking hands, taking pictures, exchanging hugs, and seeming reluctant to leave.

The only thing wrong with this picture was that the scoreboard showed that Branham had just been knocked out of the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs with a 48-42 loss to Palo Alto High School. The season was over for the Bruins, but the moment was still special because of the way they got there.

After a disastrous third quarter and early fourth quarter, the Bruins found themselves looking at a 48-12 deficit with only 10:40 left in the game. But the Bruins, who had a never say die attitude, put forth an amazing effort to come back, only to find themselves about 25 yards short when the clock ran out.

The Bruins started their battle back with a quick five-play, 61-yard drive that ended with a slant up the middle by star running back Andre Ingram, who shot across the line of scrimmage and sprinted past the secondary 31 yards untouched for the score. Quarterback T.J. De Stefano had fired a 24-yard bullet to tight end Steve Brugge two plays earlier to get the first down and keep the drive alive. Branham was down 48-19 with 9:04 left.

The Bruins followed with the first of four consecutive onside kick attempts, which were unique in and of themselves. Kicker Louis Sakoda would pop the ball high in the air towards head coach Dave Cardoza who would be standing on the sideline waving his hand. The plan was to have a Bruin grab the ball before it hit the ground. "We call it kicking the ball to BFG—bald fat guy," said Cardoza. "I find the hole in the defense and then pick the spot to kick to it."

The Bruins were unsuccessful on the first attempt, but there was a definite level of anticipation on the sideline that things were going to happen. One player was heard to say, "We may not come all the way back, but we will keep our pride."

Palo Alto had excellent field position at its own 45-yard line, but it was the Branham defense's turn to get in on the action and they cranked up the level of intensity, stopping the Vikings at the Bruins 33-yard line on a fourth down and less than one yard to go. Cameron Pickering and Joshua Lagod led a host of Bruins as they stuffed the Vikings on the attempt and Branham took over on downs.

The Bruins didn't waste much time as they struck with lightning quickness. On the first play, it was Ingram again taking the handoff on another slant across the middle and racing past the defense 67 yards to the endzone. De Stefano ran the option keeper in for the 2-point conversion, and with 6:35 left Branham had cut the Viking lead to 48-27.

It was time for another BFG, but Palo Alto retained possession near midfield. The defense cranked it up and once again Pickering and Lagod were in the thick of the action. They teamed up to stuff the Vikings for a 2-yard loss on first down. The Vikings went to the air but Pickering blocked a second down attempt and Lagod tipped away a third down effort. After a poor punt, the Bruins had the ball at their own 33-yard line. By now, the fans had caught the comeback fever and a group of students walked along the railing shouting over and over, "We believe. We believe."

Ingram continued to be the man of the hour, but this time the Bruins decided to alter the approach as they went to the air. De Stefano fired a 21-yard strike to Ingram to start the drive but things stalled momentarily and the Bruins were faced with a fourth and seven at their 42-yard line. De Stefano found Ingram alone in the flat and he streaked down the sideline 42 yards for his third consecutive touchdown. The clock showed 4:14 left and the Bruins down only 48-34.

The intensity and enthusiasm could be seen on every face on the Branham sideline from third-year water boy, Robbie Deauville, to each reserve. Players were commenting that "we only need two more touchdowns" to get even. It was time for BFG number three and, as is the case sometimes, the third time was the charm. Sakoda popped the ball in the air and Daniel Pereira pounced on it to give the Bruins new life at the Vikings 48-yard line. By now, Palo Alto players were in a daze as they were desperately looking for some way to stop the momentum swing.

Branham was not about to let up and went to work again. This time it took a little longer as they put together a nine-play drive both on the ground and through the air that kept the Vikings on their heels. There were two critical third down plays that kept hopes alive. Pickering blasted up the middle on a third and one to get the first down by inches and De Stefano found Sakoda in the flat for 12 yards on a third and 10. The score came when De Stefano faked a handoff up the middle to Pickering and then ran right behind him as Pickering led the way into the endzone. De Stefano was good on the 2-point conversion with the option keeper and the Bruins were within a touchdown at 48-42 with 2:20 remaining.

The Bruins went a different route on the fourth onside kick attempt, trying to catch the Vikings by surprise by kicking the ball the opposite direction. It was unsuccessful and the defense had to rise once again. They were up for the task and forced Palo Alto to give up the ball in four plays, which allowed the Bruins one final shot from midfield with 55 seconds and no timeouts left.

The Bruins worked their way to the 25-yard line only to have time run out. As the clock ticked down, there was a huge eruption of cheers from the stands where the Branham faithful acted as if they had just won the game.

"This is a great group of kids, a special group of kids," said Cardoza. "It indicates the kind of character they have by the way they didn't give up and came back."

"They practiced hard, had fun, and were talented," added Cardoza. "Sometimes you get one or two of those elements in a group of kids but this group had them all."

In the first quarter and early in the second, it looked like the Bruins were going to take control of the game. In their first two possessions, they took the ball deep into Viking territory but stalled both times and settled for a pair of 24-yard field goals by Sakoda, resulting in a 6-0 lead for the Bruins. "We should have scored when we got in the red zone early," said Cardoza. "That hurt us."

Palo Alto was able to get on the board twice in the second quarter and took a 14-6 lead in at halftime.

It took only 17 seconds into the second half for Branham to get back in the hunt when Ingram sprinted 55 yards for the touchdown on the first play in the half, cutting the Viking lead to 14-12. The nightmare third quarter followed when a couple of defensive miscues, two fumbles, and an interception allowed Palo Alto to score five unanswered touchdowns and set the stage for the Bruins almost miracle comeback.

Ingram was the offensive leader for the Bruins, rushing for 255 yards on 18 carries and adding two catches for 63 yards. He scored four touchdowns. Pickering added 27 yards on nine blasts up the middle. Marc Martinez rounded out the rushing game with 34 yards on only three carries.

De Stefano completed his effort for the night, tossing five completions in 16 attempts for 106 yards and one touchdown. He scampered for 58 yards on 22 carries, mostly from the keeper on the option. Sakoda had two catches for 19 yards.

"I have really enjoyed this group of kids and I will actually miss practicing with them the most," said Cardoza. "They have established a lot and set the standard for our program to not accept mediocrity but to play to win and play right."