CHULA VISTA — When it gets late and the game is on the line, dance with who brung ya.

That’s exactly what the Valley Center High School football team did Saturday afternoon against Eastlake in the CIF San Diego Section Division 4 championship game.

Clinging to a two-score lead in the fourth quarter, Jaguars head coach Bill Dunckel called for a fake punt. Up-back Joeisha Ryan Tirado delivered, rumbling for seven yards and a time-killing first down.

Seven minutes later and with his team’s lead down to seven, Valley Center faced a fourth-and-1 at the Eastlake 41. Tirado’s number was called again, and he bullied his way for two yards and a game-killing first down as the Jaguars hung on for a 21-14 win.

“No question who was getting the ball with the game on the line,” Dunckel said. “Joeisha got us here. We were going to win it with him.”

The win, the sixth San Diego Section championship in school history, propels No. 3-seed Valley Center (7-6) into the Southern California Regionals with pairings announced Sunday.

Eastlake, seeded No. 5, finishes the season 7-7.

Tirado finished the game with 32 carries for 156 yards and a touchdown, giving him 1,234 yards and 14 TDs on the season.

“I wanted the ball, no question, 100%,” said Tirado, who also plays defense. “I was cramping a little, but I also thrive on pressure. I was going to take care of business.”

Dunckel said he let the players decide who was going to take care of business when he called the fake punt.

“We called the fake, then a timeout was called,” Dunckel said. “So I asked the kids, do we want to run the fake or run ‘diesel’ — our word for a short-yardage package?

“They said, ‘Coach, let’s run the fake.’ There are times when you have to let the players decide it. Then you have to jibe with the results. Fortunately, it turned out well.”

Trailing 21-0 and in a complete funk, Eastlake scored with 9:28 to play when quarterback Tyler Balko escaped a sack, broke to his left and scrambled 92 yards untouched for a score.

After Valley Center’s fake punt, the Jaguars still were forced to punt, but the center snap sailed over the punter’s head, setting Eastlake up at the Valley Center 21.

Four plays later, David Branco scored from a yard out to make it 21-14 with 2:56 to play.

“Up 21-0, the only things that get us beat are a long play and a bad snap,” Dunckel said. “And both happen.”

After scoring, Eastlake went for an onside kick, but it was recovered by Valley Center quarterback Braylon Mitchell, who was on the Jaguars’ “hands team.”

Asked what he was most proud of in the game — his 19-yard TD run, his 28-yard TD pass to Jesse Morales, his 209 passing yards or recovering the onside kick — Mitchell didn’t hesitate.

“The onside kick,” he said. “Their guy had it for a split second, and then the ball was right there for me. I’m always on the hands team, but I’ve never recovered a kick. This was my first. Eastlake was doing everything it could to win the game. We had to cover that kick.”

Despite interceptions by Gauge Wright, Cooper Chaney and Morales, Valley Center led just 13-0 at the half. The first scores were a 28-yard pass from Mitchell to Morales and a 19-yard run by Mitchell, who scrambled out of trouble, broke down the left sideline and went into the end zone untouched.

But Valley Center failed to score after driving to the Eastlake 26, 23, 21 and 32.

Eastlake had just 44 yards of total offense in the first half.

The Titans came out running the ball in the third quarter, driving 44 yards on nine plays, only to fumble with Valley Center’s Max Stehly there to recover. Mitchell completed 13 of 23 passes for 209 yards for Valley Center with Morale catching nine balls for 136 yards.

Eastlake rushed 26 times for 179 yards, but only 87 without Balko’s 92-yard run.

The Titans completed just 3 of 11 passes for 16 yards.

Valley Center  21, Eastlake 14

Eastlake 0       0    0    14 – 14

Valley Center 7       6    8    0 – 21

VC – Tirado 2 run (Penaloza kick)

VC – Mitchell 19 run  (kick failed)

VC – Moreles 28 pass from Mitchell (Wright pass from Mitchell)

E – Balko 92 run (Naiman kick)

E – Branco 1 run (Naiman kick)