SLAM Academy rallies for 1st state title, ends Truckee streak — PHOTOS
SLAM Academy’s football team faced a fourth-and-1 near midfield, trailing Northern power Truckee by three points in the Class 3A state championship game, and Bulls coach Mike Cofer sent out the punt unit.
Then he called a timeout and had a change of heart.
“I talked to them about playing aggressive and feeling free to make mistakes, but play your guts out,” Cofer said. “I rethought it and was like I got to coach my guts out.”
The gamble paid off.
Quarterback Alaijah Young broke off a 52-yard on fourth down and scored from 1 yard out three plays later as SLAM Academy rallied from a 10-point deficit to take the lead in the fourth quarter.
The Bulls held on for a 34-30 win over Truckee to claim their first football state title Tuesday at Allegiant Stadium.
“They responded when they had to,” Cofer said. “It’s been a resilient group all year. It’s unbelievable the trip that we’ve taken from June to here. These are some hard-nosed kids because we are not easy to play for. We ask a lot of them.”
SLAM Academy (9-4) also snapped a 34-game winning streak for Truckee (12-1). The Wolverines had defeated the Bulls in the past two 3A title games.
“They stepped up and beat a very good football team that was on a roll and have been on a roll for three years,” Cofer said. “It was going to be tough to take another (loss) if we couldn’t get (Truckee) this year, I’ll be honest, that was going to be tough to take.”
Damien Nevil grinded out 58 rushing yards and had touchdown runs of 1, 8 and 1 yard for SLAM Academy. Nevil added 91 receiving yards on four catches, a 33-yard touchdown catch and a tackle for loss on defense.
“This was the team from my JV year (2021),” Nevil said. “We all grew up together. We executed this final game. … I wouldn’t want to do this with any other team. This is the best team I’ve ever played for.”
The senior running back might have had something to do with Cofer’s decision to take off the punt unit.
Cofer “wanted to call punt, and I was like ‘Nah Coach, me or (Young) could do it,’” Nevil said. “He said he trusted us. He gave it to us, and (Young) busted a big, long run.”
SLAM Academy still had to sweat out the final 7:06 after Young’s touchdown run. Truckee had two final possessions, but both ended with turnovers.
On third down in SLAM Academy territory, Truckee quarterback Jace Estabrook had trouble with a low snap and fumbled after running into one of his teammates. Dereon Johnson recovered for the Bulls with 4:55 left.
SLAM Academy tried another fourth-down conversion, but Young’s pass was incomplete with over three minutes left. The next Truckee drive didn’t last long when Greg Waters-Cortez came up with the game-sealing interception for the Bulls.
“We got high expectations for our kids and for this football program,” Cofer said. “It took a little bit of time. I thought we were knocking on the door, and they say sometimes it takes losing and knowing the other side of the coin to be sweet. This is really sweet.”
Cofer is a two-time Super Bowl-winning kicker with the San Francisco 49ers and started coaching SLAM Academy in its first season in 2018. When asked how this win compares to a Super Bowl, Cofer responded: “At this point in my life, this is way better than winning the Super Bowl.”
Truckee led 27-20 at halftime and added a 28-yard field goal to take a 10-point lead.
Midway through the third quarter, Young hit Nevil, who had two Truckee defenders on him, with a perfect pass for a 33-yard score to cut the deficit to 30-27 and help SLAM Academy start to rally back.
Young completed 11 of 17 passes for 189 yards with a touchdown pass and interception and added 93 rushing yards.
SLAM Academy and Truckee traded touchdowns on the game’s first four possessions and were tied 13-13. Dylan Tondreau came up with an interception, and the Bulls later scored on a 1-yard Nevil run to take a 20-13 lead.
Truckee came up with a fourth-down stop and scored on a Joseph Birnbaum 2-yard touchdown run to tie the game. And after a Ryder Crezee interception, the Wolverines took a 27-20 halftime lead on an Estabrook 3-yard touchdown run with three seconds before halftime.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
