Storied high school careers will come to a close this Saturday evening, when the top two seeds in the North Coast Section Division 1 playoffs meet for the section championship, as Monte Vista and Antioch face off at Dublin High.
Monte Vista quarterback Jake Haener became the program’s all-time touchdown leader with his first scoring pass of the night against Heritage two weeks ago, moving past former Stanford and Columbia signal-caller Brett Nottingham, who threw 86 touchdowns during his career for the Mustangs. Haener is headed to the University of Washington next season, but is first concerned with concluding his high school career on the right note.
“We’re excited about moving forward, but also sad to see it end,” Haener said. “I’ve been close with these guys for years. It’s been a great career and a great group to have done it all with. But getting a win in this game is what we will remember the most.”
Haener’s storied career is not the only one ending on the Monte Vista sideline this weekend. He has been friends with linebacker Nate Landman since they were seven years old, when the two started playing youth football together. Landman is committed to Colorado for next year, after being named the EBAL’s Most Valuable Player this season, and the two will become opponents in the Pac-12 conference.
“It’s certainly been neat, something special playing together with him all these years, and it will be fun to take the field one more time with him,” Haener said. “Any school who passed on him (for a college offer) has made a mistake.”
Monte Vista will also send off another Pac-12 bound player, tight end and defensive end Erik Krommenhoek. Krommenhoek is headed to USC after this year.
The Mustangs’ offense has also benefited this season from the strong play of tailback Shane Perry, who has provided balance to the passing game with 1,403 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground. The balance is also a testament to the offensive line, led by Division 1 recruit Corey Luciano, but steady across the board with five seniors in the starting group. Gwyn Watkin, Bo Brazeel, Mike Dedekind, and Zach Zeising have anchored an offense which has averaged nearly 430 yards per game.
Meanwhile, senior Isaiah Randle emerged this season as Haener’s top target after transferring from De La Salle, and has been joined by Brad Jacobsen, Landman, Krommenhoek, and junior Zane Cribb as weapons in the passing game. All told, this is a senior-heavy group intent on ending their careers as section champions for the first time since capturing the 2002 3A East Bay title.
Of course, there is another side to this game, and the other side features one of the greatest high school football players ever to emerge from the Bay Valley Athletic League. Najee Harris has accumulated nearly 8,200 yards and 98 touchdowns from scrimmage in his high school career, which will leave fans looking for number 100 in Saturday’s game.
The nation’s top recruit has done it for the last two seasons with a massive bulls-eye on his back, but has not been alone in the production for the Panthers. Sophomore quarterback Willem Karnthong has thrown for 2,100 yards and 19 touchdowns this season, while seniors Isaiah Dunn and Antione Tanner are threats to score whenever they touch the ball.
“Obviously, we want to stop Najee,” Haener said. “We expect him to get his yards, but we also expect to get those key stops during the game, and that means playing well against their entire offense.”
One advantage for Monte Vista could be in the special teams department, where another senior, left-footed Peyton Henry figures to try and eliminate the Panthers’ explosive return game on kickoffs. Henry recently got an offer from Cal, and has put 77 of his 86 kickoffs in the end zone for touchbacks this season. He is also a perfect 63-for-63 on extra points and has made 18 field goals in his career, with a long of 52 yards.
Antioch is looking for the school’s first-ever section title when the teams meet on Saturday at Dublin High. The winner of this game will see its season end due to the fact that the NCS Open teams are able to replace the Division 1 champion for a CIF playoff berth.
