The last time Scripps Ranch beat Mira Mesa in a football game, Robert “Tate” Forcier and his Falcons' teammates were in grade school.

The visiting Marauders had won 11 straight over Scripps Ranch. That mastery came to an end last night.

Forcier drove Scripps Ranch 43 yards on six plays, with Brennan Clay scoring his third touchdown on a 7-yard run in the final 21 seconds of the Falcons'25-21 Eastern League victory.

“This game and beating Saints (St. Augustine 40-36) this year is the defining point of the character of our football team,” Forcier said.

Not only did Scripps Ranch improve to 3-1 in the Eastern League and 7-2 overall, but the Falcons enhanced their chances for a top four Division II playoff seeding.

After Damian Williams (who had nine rushes for 125 yards) gave Mira Mesa a 21-17 lead with a 52-yard touchdown run 24 seconds into the fourth quarter, the teams traded turnovers as the clock continued to wind down.

An interception by Brandon Chambers stalled a Scripps Ranch scoring drive at the Marauders' 8-yard line with four minutes remaining. Mira Mesa (5-4, 2-2) advanced the ball only 4 yards from there. On fourth down, instead of punting, the Marauders elected to have their kicker intentionally run out of the back of the end zone for a safety.

“That kind of surprised me,” Forcier said. “I thought of it as a plus.”

That's because Falcons' sophomore Nick Sloan had proved earlier that he could kick long distance. He connected from 45 yards out and narrowly missed field goal tries from 46 and 47.

Sloan never got a chance to supply the winning kick.

“It was just a trap up the middle, and my line dug in and made it happen,” Clay said of his decisive scoring run.

Forcier rolled up 303 total yards, including 231 passing.

Scripps Ranch dominated the opening 14 minutes, reeling off 125 yards while limiting the Marauders to 13 yards and six plays.

Yet, the Falcons led only 7-0 at that point after Clay capped a 13-play, 44-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard plunge.

Sloan ricocheted a 45-yard field goal attempt off the left upright that tumbled over the scoring side of the crossbar to make it 10-0 with 2:31 left in the half.

A successful quarterback sneak by Kevin Ozier kept what appeared to be a belated drive alive in the final seconds of the second quarter.

One play later, Ozier, eluded a heavy pass rush, stepped up in the pocket and lofted a spiral that Casey Jumanan took on the dead run to complete a 55-yard touchdown play with 34 seconds left in the half.