By John Murphy

FONTANA – In a surprising game full of plot twists, it took an ad-lib play by the winners to rule the day.

Game Most Valuable Player Cade Miller of Diamond Ranch High scored on a 15-yard run in overtime to provide the impetus for the West’s 35-34 victory Saturday night against the East. The occasion was the sixth Inland Valley Hall of Fame Classic at Kaiser High.

Tied 28-28 after regulation, the Eastern Inland Valley stars took a 34-28 lead in overtime on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Cajon’s Jonathan Calderon to Yucaipa’s David Fisher. The point-after was missed.

The West, after gaining 10 yards on the first play of its possession, had a first down on the East 15. Miller then handed off to Upland Tyevin Ford; Ford was stuffed for no gain but spun around and pitched the ball to Miller who ran down the right sideline for the touchdown to tie the game, 34-34.

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Damien’s Ben D’Aquila then split the uprights with the extra point to win the game and send the West team leaping and running off the sideline in celebration.

“His momentum got stuffed and he spun around and just tossed it up to me,” Miller said after posing for a group picture with players from both teams. “I took off and there was an open lane to the end zone. This feels great.”

Miller completed 10-of-12 passes for 122 yards and rushed six times for 52 yards to lead the West.

On the opposite side of the field, Serrano High quarterback Parker Chaffee was thrilled just to play before four generations of his family on the cold winter evening in Fontana.

Chaffee completed 3-of-6 passes for 88 yards and one touchdown, an 86-yard aerial over the middle to Fontana’s Joseph Burciaga for a touchdown with 11:48 left in the second quarter which gave the East a 14-7 lead at the time.

“They were playing man and my receiver made a great play,” Chaffee said. “He burned his man and I just got him the ball. This was a lot of fun. It was a great way to end my high school career.”

Chaffee is not done with prep sports, though, as he is also currently wrestling.

Chaffee was no more thrilled to compete than his East teammate, San Gorgonio linebacker Desi Gonzales, who became the first deaf player to compete in the annual game. Gonzales transferred to San Gorgonio from California School for the Deaf Riverside following his sophomore season.

“It was a good experience and I learned a lot,” Gonzales said through his interpreter, his mom.

When informed he was the first deaf player to play in the game, the 6-foot, 205-pound senior took it in stride.

“I didn’t know that,” he said. “I guess it’s an honor. It was just an honor to play in the game, period.”

The East started out hot, taking a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 1-yard run by Calderon. The West bounced right back to tie with 1:50 left in the first quarter on Ford’s 12-yard touchdown run.

The East regained the lead 14-7 on the first play of the second quarter on Chaffee’s 86-yard TD pass to Burciaga. But the West knotted the score at 14 on Miller’s 10-yard TD pass to Baldwin Park’s Devin Blackwell with 5:41 left in the half.

The West then seemed to take control after halftime on Miller’s 13-yard TD run on the last play of the third quarter and a 7-yard Jordan Barton (Damien High) TD run with 11:50 left in the fourth quarter, making it 28-14. The latter came after the West recovered a fumble deep in East territory.

But the East bounced right back to tie with a 1-yard TD run by quarterback Calvin Burnach (Fontana High) with 5:37 left in the game and then, after recovering an onside kick, a 13-yard TD pass from Calderon to Demejea Mitchell (San Gorgonio) for 28-28 with 2:37 left. Redlands East Valley’s Kapena Kamakawiwoole pumped through a 35-yard PAT after the East was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty following Mitchell’s score.

That was it for regulation, but not for the excitement on this night, thanks to Ford and Miller’s heroics.  

Calderon had a big night for the East, throwing for 136 yards and running for 13.  

Inducted into the game’s Hall of Fame at halftime were former Fontana High and Miller coach John Tyree who now coaches at Calexico High and former Upland coach Tim Salter.

It was Tyree who installed the wishbone at Fontana in 1974 and planted the seed of what would be a nationally recognized program after he handed the reins to his assistant, Dick Bruich. Tyree won section titles at Imperial and Muir.

Salter managed a 217-88-1 record at Upland and won four section titles and 10 league championships. Overall, his teams went 237-100-1, including stops at Schurr and Cathedral.