RIPON — Some said, “wow.”
Others asked “how?”
That was the stunned reaction of most in attendance and anyone who had a role in Ripon’s astounding 34-33 comeback win over Amador on Friday.
“I’m still trying to get over us being down 27-3,” Ripon head coach Chris Musseman said, searching for the words to describe his emotions on this historic night.
“I don’t even know what that was,” quarterback Nico Ilardi said.
It’s Ripon’s ticket to the Sac-Joaquin Section finals, the first for the second-seeded Indians (11-1) since 1996 after losing in the semis the past two years. They’ll face No. 1 Center (12-0) — a 47-12 winner over Bradshaw Christian — for the Division V championship next Saturday, Nov. 30 at Sacramento City College’s Hughes Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.
With the aid of two key turnovers by the defense and an onside kick, Ilardi spearheaded the comeback with two 1-yard touchdown runs and two scoring passes. Nathan Valdez, who earlier nailed 29- and 25-yard field goals, gave Ripon its only lead at 34-33 with 3:30 remaining after Ilardi hit Mason Knight for a 28-yard touchdown toss.
Ilardi finished 24-of-37 passing for 242 yards while rushing eight times for 28 yards.
“We (the coaches) kept saying on the headsets that we need a break,” Musseman said. “We got our break and from there on it was Nico Ilardi running our team.”
The big break came with No. 3 Amador (10-2) threatening to expand on its 27-3 lead late in the second quarter. The Buffaloes defense had just come up with a fourth-down stop on Ripon’s 32-yard line, and the Indians had no answer for their balanced attack at this point.
Then on first-and-10 on the Indians 18, Amador quarterback Gunner Drake mishandled the snap and lost the ball on the attempted exchange to a running back. A wild scramble for the ball ensued as players chased it down toward midfield. It finally settled on the Ripon 43, and defensive end Troy Brogan emerged with the ball.
“The quarterback almost had it and I think it was Caleb Delgado who took it out his legs,” Brogan said. “(The ball) just kept going back and back and once I saw the ball I locked in on it and was not going to let that go.
“Once that happened I just knew. We were down but when we got that fumble our spirits were up. It was crazy. That momentum turn was insane.”
Sensing the shift, Musseman’s unleashed his trusted signal caller as the Indians went to their 2-minute offense the rest of the way.
Ripon began its come-from-behind surge with 1:35 to go in the opening half. Ilardi hooked up with Brandon Rainer for a 9-yard touchdown, and the Indians got the ball right back thanks to Johnny Ventura’s recovery of an onside kick from Valdez.
Ilardi completed three passes and then scrambled to the 1 on a 23-yard gain. Ripon called timeout with 5.7 seconds left, and Ilardi went on to score on an impromptu bootleg run similar to the one he ran at the end of the first half of the Indians’ shocking 42-21 win over Escalon last month.
Ripon still had work to do going into halftime down 27-17, but it was a dream scenario considering Amador’s far more favorable position just minutes prior.
“Musseman just told me if you see something pull it again,” Ilardi said. “I saw something and I took it in.
“On that first two-minute drive before the end of half we said that we have to put it in the end zone, because we knew were going to get the ball back at (the start of the second) half.”
Valdez capped Ripon’s opening drive in the second half with the 25-yard field goal to make it a one-score games. Amador responded on the next series with Augustus Gedney’s astonishing one-handed grab in the end zone, but Drake’s 13-yard touchdown pass was the only scoring sequence of the half for the Buffaloes.
Drake (9 of 15, 150 yards, TD) took another shot in the end zone early in the fourth quarter but had it picked off by Austin Bonilla, setting up Ripon’s go-ahead drive.
Ilardi targeted Knight four times on the deciding series and hit him twice, including the 28-yarder up the middle on a crossing route. Knight had a breakthrough performance of seven catches for 99 yards after top receiver Dorian Dougherty left the game with a shoulder injury on a kickoff return late in the first quarter.
Knight entered the contest with just two receptions and 54 yards on the season. He also had a key point-after block in the first quarter that proved to be the difference.
“Dorian has been our No. 1 receiver all year, and we have so many weapons on this team that Mason hasn’t had too many touches,” Illardi said. “There isn’t much film on him and no one expects to do anything. I know what he can do and he knows what he can do. He’s a very talented athlete and we haven’t utilized him enough all year but he showed how he can play today.”
Running backs Grant Wiebe (16 rushes, 63 yards; two receptions, 16 yards) and Danny Hernandez (eight rushes, 42 yards; eight receptions, 65 yards) were other key contributors for the Indians.
Kole Alleyn paced Amador with 170 yards and a touchdown on 12 scampers. His 59-yard touchdown gave the Buffaloes a commanding 20-3 lead with 8:43 to go in the first half.
Tailback Wes Villareal scored twice but was held in check (nine rushes, 38 yards) for much of the game. Gedney ended with five catches for 92 yards.
“They came out and punched us in the mouth,” Brogan said. “They have some pretty big dudes up front and I don’t think we were ready for it. Once they scored those first couple of touchdowns we got down on ourselves.”
And somehow it was the Indians celebrating at Stouffer Field.
“That’s unbelievable,” he said. “That just goes to show the heart of this team.”

SCORING SUMMARY
Amador  13  14  6  0 — 33
Ripon       3  14 10 7 — 34

First quarter
A—Jake Schultz 19 run (Nash Wylie kick), 8:31.
R—Nathan Valdez 29 field goal, 2:10.
A—Wes Villarreal 4 run (kick blocked), 0:25.

Second quarter
A—Kole Alleyn 59 run (Wylie kick), 8:43.
A—Villarreal 6 run (Wylie kick), 5:35.
R—Brandon Rainer 9 pass from Nico Ilardi (Valdez kick), 1:02.
R—Ilardi 1 run (Valdez kick), 0:1.6.

Third quarter
R—Valdez 25 kick, 9:28.
A—Augustus Gedney 13 pass from Gunner Drake (run failed), 6:43.
R—Ilardi 1 run (Valdez kick), 4:17.

Fourth quarter
R—Mason Knight 28 pass from Ilardi (Valdez kick), 3:30.