BELLFLOWER – Mayfair’s defense stopped a fourth down near the goal line in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter to beat Trabuco Hills 37-30 in the first round of the CIF Southern Chapter Division 5 football playoffs on Friday night. .

Afterwards, Mayfair point guard Jeremiah Calvin talked about what was going through his mind before he grabbed the ball on the fourth-down play.

“Honestly, I was just praying, praying,” Calvin said with a smile. “The defense has great play. They showed up when we needed them the most. We’re going to find a way to win every week and that’s what I love about this team, we’re just going to fight.”

The Monsoons (8-3) controlled the game with their powerful offense for three quarters, but the Mustangs (5-6) refused to go out without a fight.

Trabuco Hills responded by scoring 15 straight points as Calvin found Max Mitchell, who caught a 16-yard field goal that gave the Monsoons a 30-15 lead with 3:22 left in the third quarter.

Quarterback Tristan Zale connected with receiver Alex Kiernan for a 24-yard touchdown catch and then a successful 2-point conversion. That cut the Mustangs’ deficit to seven with 12 seconds left in the third quarter, and they carried that momentum into the fourth quarter.

The Trabuco Hills special teams made a big play early in the fourth quarter, blocking Mayfair kicker Jonathan Arreola’s 36-yard field goal attempt.

The Trabuco Hills offense took advantage, with running back Gavin Mulhall scoring on a 20-yard run to tie the score at 30 with 5:29 left in the game.

But the Monsoons remained unshaken. As they have all season, they turned to running back C.J. Johnson, who broke loose on the sideline and hit a 56-yard touchdown run to put Mayfair up 37-30 with 3:38 left.

It was up to the Monsoon defense to stop it. Trabuco Hills was moving down the field and pushing deep into Monsoon territory, aided by some untimely defensive penalties against Mayfair.

However, Trabuco Hills, on fourth down at the Mayfair 7 with 37 seconds left and no timeouts, had Zale fumble the pass, but the Monsoons’ pass offense managed to generate enough pressure to give him an incomplete pass that secured the win. For Mayfair.

Monsoon head coach Derek Bedell talked about what his defense went through on fourth down.

“We made a really good play. We ended up attacking them and putting some pressure on the quarterback,” Bedell said. “I don’t remember if it was Vince (Roth) or Kash (Foreman), one hit him and the other one threw the ball. “We made a great effort both offensively and defensively all night long.”

Calvin completed 13 of 19 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns, each going to a different receiver.

“They’re pure ball players,” Calvin said of Gilbreath and Johnson. “They work hard and you get out what you put in, so I’m proud of these guys. They’re my guys and I love them to death and we’re going to keep this going.

Johnson finished with 224 yards on 26 carries and scored the winning touchdown. Gilbreath had five receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown.

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Bedell also spoke highly of his two biggest offensive threats.

“I thought both kids had great nights,” Bedell said of Gilbreath and Johnson. “CJ (Johnson) is a good tailback. I think more people should hire him because he’s an incredible actor. And Chaz is just that dude. If you looked up the word ‘guy’ in the dictionary, Chaz would probably be there. He makes play after play for us when we need him to make play. He did the same thing tonight.”

The Mustangs got a strong showing from running back Landon Pompey, who finished with 211 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns.