Sep 30, 2006 By Jeff Debaldo For The 3 min read

JEFFERSON – Ten yards seems like a relatively short distance. Ask Jefferson-Morgan head football coach Jan Haiden and he’s bound to have a different opinion on that topic after California won a 25-19 overtime thriller Friday night against his Rockets.

The Rockets had to start overtime of their Tri-County South Conference game from the Trojan 20-yard line instead of the 10-yard line where WPIAL rules place the ball.

“I think (the officials) messed that up,” Haiden said. “Ten yards may not seem like much, but with our offense and with a backup quarterback, 10 yards is huge.”

“It was back and forth, and back and forth,” California head coach Joe Kuhns said. “This was enormous.”

Kuhns attributed a big reason why the Trojans came out on top was California’s improved health. Standout running back Donte Valentino finally returned to action after suffering a concussion a few weeks ago.

Valentino, ironically, scored the winning touchdown on a third-and-goal.

“They just don’t have Valentino,” Haiden said. “They have some of the best athletes in the conference.”

“We fielded a JV team last week,” Kuhns joked. “We told the kids it doesn’t matter how you start, it’s how you finish.”

The Trojans led 19-12 with just over five minutes remaining in regulation but missed the point after. Two rushes and 75 yards later, J-M’s Jarrod Moskola tied the game for the Rockets (2-3, 2-1) on a 70-yard scamper that electrified the Parker Field crowd.

“This was a great high school football game,” said Haiden. “It was a great game from the coaching to the play calling. I’m sure it was a great game to watch.”

The game featured momentum swings and timely plays from both teams. California narrowly escaped last year against J-M with a 12-10 win. This year’s game had four lead changes and a tie, and needed overtime to decide the outcome.

“I used to coach with Jan,” Kuhns said. “I know how he thinks and he knows how I think. Rivalries happen between good programs and both programs are good programs right now.”

The Rockets led 12-7 late in the third quarter. The Trojans recovered a J-M fumble and made the Rockets pay two plays later when J.D. Hawk caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Ben Carson on a receiver reverse pattern. The score gave the Trojans a 13-12 lead.

“Ben’s been our quarterback,” said Kuhns. “They were bigger than us up front and we decided that we were going to try and spread them out.”

Moskola finished the night with 172 yards on 19 carries and one touchdown. Teammate Justin Falcon also turned in an impressive performance with 21 carries for 116 yards and two touchdowns.

The win enabled the Trojans (2-3, 1-1) to avoid an 0-2 conference start after their lopsided loss last week to Monessen.