BRENTWOOD – The Pittsburg Jr. Pirates rookies scored via a long pass play with 2 seconds remaining in the first half for a three-touchdown lead and the Manteca Cowboys were not able to respond losing 19-0 in the NCYFC Super Bowl at Heritage High. 

The Cowboys could not get their offense on track until late in the game when they got inside the Jr. Pirates 10-yard line but could not punch it in.  

Bryson Davis led Manteca with eight carries for 84 yards. Gabriel Florez Jr. added 28 yards on five carries. 

Omar Diaz led the Cowboys defense with eight tackles. Florez Jr. (fumble recovery), Blake Mount (interception), Isaac Alvarez and Brandyn Sena added five tackles each, Davis four and Koa Rodrigues three. 

Manteca avenged two earlier-season losses to reach the Super Bowl but the bad first half Saturday sunk their season. 

“This team worked very hard this year to get here,” Cowboys coach Eddie Lopez said. “They had two losses this year – one to the Raiders who they beat in second round and other loss to undefeated Rams who they beat to get to the Super Bowl.

“They played their butts off in second half but you need to play your butts for four quarters so we came up short, but they get another chance to end the season on a good note going to Vegas to play in the national championships.”