Hughson High football coach Shaun King knows better than to head to the football field without his doctor close by. His physician was in the bleachers Saturday morning at Hughes Stadium on the campus for Sacramento City College as the Huskies made history.

For the third straight year, the boys in black lifted a blue Sac-Joaquin Section banner after defeating Sutter (11-1) by a 30-29 score in the Division 5 championship game. They claimed victory and kept their perfect season alive in classic Hughson fashion, falling behind by two scores early and tying the game twice before finally taking the lead with just 14 seconds on the clock thanks to a second 2-point conversion of the day.

Converting the game-winning two points was quarterback Robert McDaniel and tight end Max Mankins, a pair of talents set to compete collegiately next fall at Arizona and Air Force, respectively. McDaniel bounced around in the pocket before firing the ball between two Sutter defenders and into the hands of the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Mankins over the middle. The catch was set up by a 1-yard touchdown dive by senior fullback Colt Foss to cap off a 12-play, one minute, 40 second drive to cut the score to 29-28.

The Huskies quickly shut down a screen attempt by Sutter as time expired to clinch their third title in as many years, by a combined three points. In 2022 and 2023, they won the section’s Division 6 crown.

King, who joked after the game that he’ll be requesting stronger blood pressure medicine from his doctor, was adamant on Saturday’s game ending on his terms, and not to let the game go into a crapshoot overtime period.

“When we got the ball back, driving down the whole time, I said, ‘We are going for two. We’re not going to mess with overtime. Win or go home,’” he said.

King revealed that he almost decided to go for two points following the Huskies’ previous touchdown, a 21-yard connection between the McDaniel brothers to make it a 22-21 game in favor of Sutter. On the extra-point attempt, Sutter was called for an encroachment penalty, but it was ultimately declined by King to give his kicker, junior Noe Pacheco, a better angle to tie the game.

“I was going to go for two the previous time, even take the penalty to go down to a yard-and-half (distance to the goal line), and I’m glad I didn’t because that would’ve been the play call, and I didn’t want to throw that (in case we needed it later), so I’m glad it came down to that,” he said.

The play may be familiar to the Hughson faithful, as it was run for McDaniel and Mankins in last year’s section title game to give the Huskies an extra pair of points in a 40-39 thriller.

“It’s a play we haven’t really ran too much this year,” said offensive coordinator Phil Tubera. “It’s specifically for two-point conversions… Our tight end reads the linebacker whose typically manned up, and goes out, cuts back in. (Mankins) has the big body, big hands, and it’s a good, secure catch.”

Mankins admitted that he had anxiety once he heard the call come in from the sidelines, as did several other members of the team. “When we got up there and I heard our personnel group, I was thinking, ‘I think this is coming to me because this is the same thing as last year,” he said. “I was a little nervous, but I just tried to calm myself and try not to make the nerves overcome what was going on.”

The two exceptions were the McDaniel brothers, who each donned new championship hats as they stood proudly beside one another near their family in the stands.

“I knew we were going to have Max over the middle and that they were going to bring some pressure,” said Robert. “I was confident that my guy was going to make the catch.”

“I wasn’t nervous. I knew we were going to get it,” added Bryce. “I just knew it.”

The younger McDaniel played with incredible confidence the entire game. The touchdown catch two drives prior was his second of the game, as he hauled in a 17-yard score in the corner of the end zone midway through the second quarter to put his team on the board after falling behind 15-0. The elder McDaniel tossed a pass to senior Jamesson Davis to convert their first two-point attempt of the day to make it a 15-8 ballgame.

Before that, Sutter took advantage of the Hughson defense, who were dead set on stopping a relentless rushing game. Quarterback Braden Scritchfield floated a 56-yard pass to Marcus Meras to give themselves a 7-0 lead on the third play of the second quarter. After Hughson lost a fumble, Sutter needed just three plays for Scritchfield to scramble for a 13-yard score before Trenton Harter rumbled for an extra two points.

“We certainly don’t make it easy on ourselves,” King said. 

But late in the third quarter, the Huskies tied the game when a 28-yard McDaniel connection set up Foss for a 3-yard rushing score. The two rushing touchdowns from Foss were his lone rushing attempts of the day. He was limited in opportunities as it was his first game back from a lower leg injury suffered in Hughson’s playoff opener against El Dorado.

Sutter found the end zone again, though, four minutes into the fourth quarter when Dominic Souza capped off a six-play drive for a 2-yard score. They were poised to score again after forcing a Hughson three-and-out and Max Bringgold returning the punt to the opposing 30-yard line before he fumbled right into a pile of Huskies. Eight plays later, the game was tied at 22 after the second McDaniel-to-McDaniel touchdown.

“When watching film, (Sutter) leaves the outsides wide open. When they do that, they can’t cover me,” Bryce said. “Simple as that, they can’t cover me. I’ve known since Monday.”

Meras cared little about the momentum shift, immediately putting six more points on the board after breaking free for a 65-yard rush on the very next play from scrimmage. The extra point gave Sutter a 29-22 lead, setting the stage for Hughson’s game-winning drive. During their charge down the field, McDaniel was surgical in the pocket, completing chunk passes to Davis, Lawson Aviles and Malakai Sumter. They ran three times in their first 11 plays, including a 15-yard carry from Cesar Ramos to push them a yard within pay dirt before Foss took care of the rest.

McDaniel completed 16 of 27 attempts for 240 yards and the two touchdowns to little brother, as well as an opening-drive interception. In total, Bryce snagged six balls for 111 yards. Aviles had five receptions for 31 yards, including a 13-yarder on fourth down on the final drive. Davis’ two catches both went for 25 yards. Malakai Sumter pitched in three catches for 49 yards.

The run game was led by Eli Wilbanks, who had a team-high 18 carries for 71 yards. No other running back had more than two carries, though McDaniel had to scramble six times for 35 yards.

“It feels amazing,” Robert said of the third-straight section banner. “”Especially with my brother and basically my family out there on the field, us preparing every single day.”

“It feels great,” King said. “It’s never been done. When you’re at a school that’s been around for over 100 years and you make history, it’s pretty incredible. And that’s a credit to all my coaches and players.”

As McDaniel alluded to, the season didn’t end in Sacramento. On Friday, the 13-0 Huskies will host St. Vincent de Paul of Petaluma in the CIF Division 4-AA Northern California Regional Bowl Game to advance to the state championship. 

In 2023 they won the Division 5-AA state title 9-6 over Muir. Last season, though, they fell 31-21 to Palma.

SVDP are 12-1 on the year and coming off a 51-7 dismantling of Sonoma Valley this weekend in the North Coast Section D-5 title game. Friday’s clash at Husky Memorial Stadium is slated for 7:30 p.m. with the winner heading to Long Beach Community College either Dec. 13 or 14 to play the victor of the South bowl game between Highland at Coalinga.