ORANGEVALE — Trailing by a touchdown to start the second half, No. 5 Lathrop needed a big play, and the Spartans got it when Eliseo Lopez covered a squib kick on the second-half kickoff, setting up a seven-play, 40-yard drive capped by Pablo Pena’s 7-yard touchdown run to knot the score.

Unfortunately, top-seeded Casa Roble got the next two scores and won the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V semifinal, 28-15.

“I just knew we had to do something,” Lopez said. “We had to get the momentum.

“I saw it and coach called the right play.”

The first half was headed for a scoreless tie when with 1:30 left in the second quarter Eric Eaton recovered a fumble for Casa Roble (11-1) and rambled 67 yards for the game’s first score.

The Spartans defense was nails in the first half, halting a Rams drive at the Lathrop 4-yard line and another at the Spartans 26. Just when Lathrop (10-2) appeared to have righted the ship with Pena’s touchdown, Jaylen Barcenas (15 carries, 137 yards) scored two plays later for Casa Roble on a 45-yard run, taking the momentum back.

“Our program has changed,” Spartans coach Ryan Teicheira said. “We have a lot of heart, a lot of passion. The guys have realized we are a good team, and they welcome challenges like tonight, and they have come to realize that we belong.

“We play up to the levels of those who are favored to win the section, and we compete playing physical football.”

Lathrop battled until the end. Tariq Lofton (four receptions, 71-yards) made a circus catch for the Rams on a 41-yard pass from Aidan Lopez (9 of 18 passing, 138 yards) to set up a 3-yard scoring plunge by Barcenas to make the score 28-15 with 2:33 remaining in the game.

The Spartans came roaring back with a 14-play, 56-yard drive that stalled when Daryion Reyno (9 of 17 passing, 90 yards) hit Maddox Ramos (five catches, 34 yards) with an 8-yard pass on fourth down to the one-half yard line.

“I was just trying to get to my guy (Ramos) in the end zone,” Reyno said. “I didn’t want to make a bad decision, and I did what I could.

“That last drive was just keep going, next play, next play.”

Pena was the work horse for Lathrop with 116 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns.

“For the season I am proud of these guys and for tonight, I am even more proud,” Pena said. “None of us backed down.

“We knew coming in together we had each other’s backs. I am proud of the season we had. Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way, but we tried our best.”

Casa Roble coach Chris Horner knew he had been in a physical contest.

“These guys were really big, really tough and really physical,” Horner said. “We made a couple of big plays, but these guys were tough, they were a very, very good football team.”

“No. 6 (Pena) is as good as advertised. This guy just gets four yards when he catches the ball and leans forward. No. 1 (Treydon Santos) is an athlete, and the quarterback (Reyno) is tough as nails. We did not take them lightly, and we knew they were no pushover. They were a five (seed), could have been a four or even a three.”

The Rams will face Sutter next Saturday at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento for the section championship at 12:30 p.m.