GALT — The Ripon Christian Knights punched their ticket to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI finals.

They did so Friday in spectacular fashion, upsetting previously unbeaten Liberty Ranch in a shootout, 52-49.

With 44.3 seconds left, RC quarterback Mason Tameling found Daniel Lambdin on a 10-yard pass for the game-winner.

"Daniel came up huge with that catch," said Tameling, who completed 15 of his 25 passes for 382 yards and one interception.

More importantly, he threw for five touchdowns, ran for two, and connected on a 27-yard field goal.

No. 3-seed Ripon Christian High (10-2) led for most of the way in this semifinal match-up against the No. 2 Hawks (11-1), who kept the Knight defense in a scramble with their explosive Wing-T led by Joe Lara, who rushed for 343 on 35 carries while finding the end zone five times.

"We couldn't stop their run," said RC coach Phil Grams.

Yet, he was confident with his team's passing attack against Liberty Ranch.

"We knew they played a lot of one-on-one (coverages)," Grams said.

That opened the field up for Amos Cady, who, according to Tameling, had a legacy game. More on that.

Liberty Ranch opened the game by going 52 yards on five plays capped by Lara's 5-yard TD.

RC's first possession was at midfield, with Tameling quickly going to work by connecting on a few passes including one for 26 yards to Cady. 

Tameling tied the game at 7-7 with his 5-yard scoring run.

The Knights then came up with a turnover with Maxx Anderson recovering a fumble.

On a third-and-long, Tameling found Cady matched up on man coverage with no safety help. He did the rest from there, taking the short pass and racing 75 yards down the sidelines to paydirt.

On the ensuing kickoff, RC caused another fumble with Mason Clark coming away with the loose ball. The Knights drove the ball deep into Liberty Ranch territory before settling for the field goal.

Down 17-7, the Hawks answered back in the second quarter behind a pair of Lara TDs.

The Knights, who were now down 21-17, reclaimed the lead shortly before halftime on Cady's 65-yard scoring pass from Tameling.

Leading 24-21, RC added to its lead early in the third on Cady's 25-yard touchdown, making it 31-21.

Liberty Ranch struck back on its next possession. Wyatt Corriea's 4-yard TD cut the deficit.

The Knights returned the favor moments later as Tameling ran one in from the 6, making it a 38-28 advantage.

The Hawks came up with an interception, cashing in on the turnover with a Lara 5-yard TD run.

Tameling and Cady went to work again in the fourth quarter, making it a 10-point cushion following the 53-yard scoring pass play.

Cady finished out his legacy game with 11 catches for 317 yards and four TDs.

Liberty Ranch reclaimed the lead on two more Lara scores. His 3-yard scoring run at the 1:49 mark in the fourth provided his Hawks with a 49-45 edge.

RC behind Tameling moved confidently down the field. Included was a big third-down play where Tameling found his younger brother Talen Tameling at the Liberty Ranch 10 in the final minute.

"I trusted him to catch it," Mason Tameling said proudly of his brother.

He then found Lambdin for the go-ahead score.

The Hawks had one last gasp, but their season came to halt on a fumble recovered by Aaron Van Hofwegen for the clincher.

Defensively, RC was led by Blake Stuit (10 tackles, eight solo), Jackson Howell (nine tackles, eight solo), and Anderson (nine tackles, seven solo).

Next up is Sonora for the section title next Saturday, Nov. 29. The No. 1 Wildcats took care of Bradshaw Christian to set up the Trans Valley League rematch with the Knights.