Arizona signee Brandon Smith, prolific offense leads Central East past Pittsburg in NorCal 1-A final

Senior tailback carries a career high 38 times for 270 yards, carrying the Bengals to the finish of a thorough road win over a determined and host Pirates team

Fleet Central East wide receiver Xavior Jones salutes after scoring on a 52-yard reverse in the second quarter of his team's 55-36 CIF Northern California Division 1-A championship win at Pittsburg on Dec. 6. / Photo by Dennis Lee

PITTSBURG, Calif. — The game was decided, the Bengals of Central East of Fresno had given up a couple easy fourth-quarter scores but Brandon Smith wasn't quite satisfied.

The 6-foot, 190-pound senior running took the direct snap, raced up the middle and carried two Pittsburg defenders on his back the final eight yards to finish off a 19-yard run.

He could have gone down easily five to 10 yards earlier, but that's just not his style. And perhaps, he was making a statement.

The Bengals want to finish the job.

Brandon Smith (2) skips into the end zone with one of his two touchdowns to go along with 270 yards rushing and several tackles from his strong safety spot lifting Central East to a 55-36 NorCal Division 1-A championship win at Pittsburg on Dec. 6. / Photo by Dennis Lee

Even though Smith got banged up late in the third quarter, he too wanted to finish and did so with a career high 38 carries for 270 yards and two touchdowns as the Bengals went wire-to-wire to hand an equally hungry Pittsburg squad a 55-36 CIF Northern California Division 1-A home championship game defeat Saturday night under brisk and breezy conditions.

Smith's determined run came on his 35th carry.

FINISH THE JOB

"He's an absolute stud an a great kid," Central East coach Kyle Biggs said. "He's been amazing on both sides of the ball and just does everything for us."

"Our goal since January was to finish the job," said Biggs, whose team did so in his fourth season (2019), when they went 15-0, beating favored Sierra Canyon 34-19 in the State 1-AA finals at Cerritos College.

This team (13-1) has one hiccup, a 42-26 loss at Grant in Week 2, but have since rattled off 12 straight wins utilizing perhaps the most complete offense in the state, one which averages 49 points and 541 yards per game.

Junior WR Bayon Harris, a 6-4, 195-pounder, following his second TD of the night and 25th of the season. / Photo by Dennis Miller

The Bengals upped those numbers on Saturday, piling up 563 yards and going for 55 points against a prideful program and a defense that had given up just 81 points in its last eight games with two shutouts.

Besides Smith, who signed to the University of Arizona on Wednesday, churning out hard yards inside and outside, junior quarterback Jelani Dippel threw for four touchdowns, two more to Bayon Harris for 49 and 30 yards, his 24th and 25th TD catches of the season. Dippel also rushed for a touchdown to put the finishing touches on this one.

"Jelani has been great all year long and keeps getting better," Biggs said.

BOMBS AWAY

He also hit Cal-signee Eli Morgan with a pretty 35-yard bomb to start the third quarter and a 22-yard to Andrew Garcia, his first TD catch of the season, to start the game.

Add in two brilliant play calls, a 52-yard reverse by speedy Xavier Jones and an 11-yard keeper from Dippel — neither runner was touched on either play — and the Central East offense was on full diplay, leading to a 48-14 lead midway through the third quarter.

The Pirates (12-3), who largely outplayed Northern California Open Division representative De La Salle-Concord in a 24-17 defeat about a month ago, showed all sorts of pride and athleticism all night, including the brilliant one-hand 7-yard touchdown catch by RJ Mosley, a long and fleet 6-foot-4 receiver who will join Smith at the Unviersity of Arizona.

Pittsburg senior WR RJ Mosley with the most spectacular play of the night in a game of many, a 7-yard TD catch in the first half, to close Central East's deficit to 14-7. / Photo by Dennis Lee

5 TURNOVERS

Mosley (seven catches, 95 yards) added a 42-yard catch and run in the fourth quarter, when fleet sophomore receiver Kenneth Moore, a big play machine, added a 67-yard touchdown from senior quarterback Carlos Torres (13 of 23, 247 yards).

Moore also had a 79-yard catch-and-run — he was caught at the one by Smith — that set up a short TD run, and an 18-yard touchdown catch.

But the Pirates, who bring back many of its top players next year including sophomore quarterback Javale Jones (three completions, 117 yards, and two runs for 45 yards), couldn't overcome five turnovers, including a fumbled kickoff after Morgan's touchdown catch to start the second half.

When the Bengals turned that immediately into seven more points on Smith's second TD run of the night, this one was essentially over at 48-14.

That said, after long touchdown passes to Mosley and Ward cut the deficit to 48-28 early in the fourth and the Pirates forced a three-and-out, a miracle was still in reach.

But linebacker Juan Ochoa made a leaping interception of a Torres pass which sorta sealed it. Dippel did so officially with his 11-yard keeper with 4:41 to go, making it 55-28.

There's no looking back at last season's failure in the state finals, the Bengals are now looking straight ahead to their state-title date at Saddleback College on Dec. 13. Bayon Harris had touchdown catches of 49 and 30 yards on Saturday night in Pittsburg and now has 25 on the season. / Photo by Dennis Lee