North 21, Valley View 17

By the end, it was clear both teams had the will to win. Only Riverside North had the time.

Tyhir Duvall scored on an 18-yard run with 1:48 remaining and North held off Moreno Valley Valley View's desperate final drive to capture the California Interscholastic Federation Division 5 championship with a 21-17 victory at Alvord District Stadium.

Both teams had specialized in late-game dramatics throughout the playoffs, and Friday's title game played true to form. The lead changed hands three times in the final 6:36.

Valley View (9-5) took the lead on a 66-yard pass from Nick Jackson to Donte McBride with 4:26 to go. Jackson rolled right and found McBride alone near the right sideline just past midfield.

But North (10-4) moved 75 yards on eight plays. The winning score came on a third-and-2 when the Huskies, coming off a timeout, pulled Damon Morton off the field and went into a stack-I formation. Duvall found a seam for the first down, then twisted out of a tackle and sprinted to the end zone.

"We were just going for the first down," North coach Mark Paredes said. "Tyhir made a great run. He wouldn't go down."

For Valley View, though, this had almost become part of the script. The Eagles had won all three playoff games in the final minutes. In this one, they converted a fourth-and-3, then moved to the North 40 with 30 seconds left. But Jackson missed McBride deep and then had to dump a pass on second down. He completed a short pass to Chris Thomas on third down, but the Eagles were out of timeouts and time expired before they could snap the ball.

"It was really heart-throbbing at the end," Morton said. "Coaches had been telling us all week about how they (Valley View) kept coming back to win."

Both teams had to deal with plenty of frustration.

Valley View dominated possession in the first half, running 41 plays to North's 15 and outgaining North, 220 yards to 73. Wayland Gilliam-Smith carried

17 times for 96 yards in the first half and finished with 151 yards on 32 carries.

But the Eagles managed only a 10-7 halftime lead.

On the third play from scrimmage, Spencer Moore broke free for a 65-yard gain, but North's Grayland Walter made a saving stop at the 5 and Valley View came up empty after a missed field goal.

Both teams converted interceptions into scores, including a tiebreaking, 37-yard field goal by Valley View's Raul Torres on the final play of the half.

"I still knew we were going to be OK," North defensive tackle Ken Mann said. "We're always a way better team in the second half."

The Huskies outscored every opponent but Redlands in the second half. North twice appeared headed for go-ahead scores in the second half, but Josh Barnett and Joe Paredes each fumbled on the way to the end zone.

North finally took the lead on Duvall's 13-yard run with 6:36. Duvall also had a 35-yard reception on the drive.

"Both teams wasted opportunities," Valley View coach Dan Barlage said. "I can't say anything bad about my team. I'm proud of what we accomplished. Give North credit."

For North, the championship couldn't have been further removed from its first title, in 1995. That team, led by current NFL linebacker Chris Claiborne, rolled to a 14-0 season.

This year, the Huskies finished the regular season with a disheartening loss to Riverside Arlington.

"They (Arlington) handed our hats to us and said `See ya,' " Paredes said.

"But everything seemed to culminate in that first playoff game (against Menifee Paloma Valley). All the things that had failed seemed to work, and we just started hitting on all gears.

"We were aching and beat up. There was no hollering or screaming. We just said, `If we don't get our stuff together soon, it'll be a short playoffs.' "

Instead, the Huskies ended the year with a celebration.

"We're such a young team, but they got the job done," Paredes said. "This is probably the most gratifying year I've had as a coach.

"It was a great year, and even if we had lost this game, I would have told you the same thing."